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THE HEROES 



OF THE 



WAR FOR THE UNION 



AND 



THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS: 



% €m^ltk pisturg of llje §xmi '§thl\m, 



CONSISTING OP 

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES OF OFPICERS AND STATESMEN; PICTrRES 
OF GREAT BATTLES, SIEGES, DESPERATE CHARGES, AND SKIRM- 
ISHES; PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS AND DARING; THRILLING 
INCIDENTS ; WITH ALL ELSE OF INTEREST CONNECTED 
WITH THE NATIONAL STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE. 



By key. p. Y. FERREE, M. D., 

OF THE OHIO CONFEEENCE OF THE M. E. CHURCH. 



FIRST SERIES. 



CINCINNATI: 

E. W. CARROLL & CO., PUBLISHERS, 

73 West Fourth St., Opera-House Building, 

18G4. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year ISCi, 

By EEV. p. V. FERKEE, M. D., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern 

District of Ohio. 

STEREOTYPED AT THE FRANKLIN TTPE FOUNDRY, CINCINNATI, OHIO.- 







TO THE 

THE GENERAL, FIELD, AND LINE, THE BRAA^E, WORKING NON-COMMIS- 
SIONED OFFICERS ; WITH THE UNTITLED, COURAGEOUS, PATIENTLY 
ENDURING PRIVATES, THE MEN WHO HAVE ENDURED THE 
HARDSHIPS, DONE THE FIGHTING, WON THE VICTORIES, 
AND EXPERIENCED MUCH OF THE AGONY OF THIS 
war; to THEIR HEROIC FAMILIES, WHO 
HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH TO THEIR 
COUNTRY, AND TO ALL 
PATRIOTS EVERY-WHERE, BOTH IN THE NORTH AND SOUTH, 

THIS VOLUME, 

WITH ITS SEVERAL SUCCESSORS, IS NOW RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED. 

The Author. 



PREFACE. 



Of nofhing am I more fully convinced than that a knowl- 
edge of tlie deeds and endurance of our volunteer soldiers 
should be preserved to the greatest possible extent. To 
give their noble conduct, whether of the army or navy, 
enduring existence upon the historic page would be but 
simple justice. Next in importance to the preservation of 
our national existence, is the preservation of the splendid 
record made by the armies of the "War for the Union." 
This service, though performed in the best manner and 
with the highest finish, would, after all, be but a poor com- 
pensation for what they have done and suffered. What- 
ever else may be withheld from them, this simple and ob- 
viously just service should not. Of their heroic endurance, 
tireless energy, ardent patriotism, sublime bravery, gallant 
fighting, and wonderful self-denial, for the entertainment 
and culture of future generations, as well as to do them 
justice, a full and accurate record should at once be made. 

In the preparation of the first volume of " The Heroes 
of the War for the Union and their Achievements," I 
have labored to contribute my portion to so laudable an 
object. I have attempted, in these pages, to faithfully de- 
scribe the long, toilsome marches of our troops; to portray 
them, weary, foot-sore, and resting in their catups, often 



VI PREFACE. 

without shelter or fire ; to delineate tlieir noble and manly 
characters ; to exhibit their tenacious adherence to the 
sacred cause of liberty amid the most trying circumstances ; 
and to give a full and faithful picture of their astonishing 
and even sublime fighting. All this I have attempted. I 
may have performed my work in an unskillful and imper- 
fect manner. I may have fallen far below the sublime 
hights which I should have reached to secure a glimpse of 
the wide field of martial deeds spreading out in grandeur 
before me. In all this I may have come short. Yet of 
this am I certain: my lieart has been in the work. My 
heart has been with "the boys" in the field from the be- 
ginning of the war. Through every day of those three 
years of carnage they have occupied my thoughts, and 
shared in my solicitude and prayers. I have ever felt that 
the grandeur and magnitude of my subject as greatly trans- 
cended my abilities, as the patriotism and gallantry of 
our armies transcend the patriotism and gallantry of the 
armies of all other nations. Yet I felt justified in under- 
taking and prosecuting the work. 

With the material at my command, I have done the 
best I could. If I have failed to give place and record to 
all the heroes who lived and acted within the period cov- 
ered by this volume, it was for the want of full and accu- 
rate information. 

Of much of the most superb heroism of our troops, and 
of some of the grandest events of the war, but little or 
nothing is said in the public prints. I have attempted to 
obviate this serious defect by engaging the services of in- 



PREFACE. VU 

telligent, closely observing, and educated privates as corre- 
spondents — men found in great abundance in the ranks — 
in wbose statements the most implicit confidence may be 
placed. In tbis way I have secured a knowledge of some 
of the most impressive, suggestive, and tbrilling events 
distinctive of this war for liberty. 

The privates of our armies have their history, just as the 
officers have theirs. Out of the history of the former, as 
well as out of the history of the latter, I have attempted 
to work up a beautiful mosaic — to paint a picture true, full, 
and fair, with all the actors standing out in bold relief. 
' To both officers and privates, of whom, as an American, 
I am proud, I have labored to do ample justice. For this, 
my tribute to the loyalty and gallantry of our officers and 
jyivates, I bespeak a full and candid perusal. I design it to 
be a complete and accurate history of the great events of 
the G-reat Kebellion of the nineteenth century. I hope to 
make it of permanent interest and value. 

In tolerably rapid succession the different volumes of this 
work will follow each other. From the nature of the facts 
narrated, and the character of the men described, the inter- 
est of the work will increase as it advances toward its close. 

Instead of incumbering my pages with foot-notes refer- 
ring to my authorities, I herein make a general statement 
of them. In following this course, I feel perfectly justified, 
f(tr reasons I need not mention. Upon every thing emanat- 
ing from the press, relating to the " Great Conflict," in the 
form of periodicals, on which I could place my hands, I 
have laid a contribution. From these multitudinous sources 



7111 PREFACE. 

I subtracted all tliat could be relied upon as true. The of- 
ficial reports of officers were my invariable guides in matters 
of general moment. They form the basis of this work. As 
already stated, I have in my service a number of soldiers, 
as correspondents, in and of the army of the United States. 
To the Cincinnati Daily Commercial, one of the most reli- 
able and ably edited papers of the whole country; the Daihj 
Gazette; the W^esterii Advocate; the Methodist; Harper's 
Weekly and MontJily periodicals, and to numerous other 
papers. Northern and Southern, am I indebted for the facts 
I have worked up in the text. I hope that this general 
reference will be satisfactory. 

Hoping that the reader will not be disappointed in the 
expectations authorized by the title of the work, and that it 
will meet the approval of all, I cheerfully, but tremblingly, 
send it out upon its destiny. 



P. Y. Ferree. 



Somerset, Peery Co., Ohio., 1 
June 6, 1864. i 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER L— FoET Sumter 11 

CHAPTER II.— Anderson ^. 59 

CHAPTER III.— Officers of Sumter 7G 

CHAPTER IV.— Baltimore 113 

CHAPTER v.— Ellsworth 148 

CHAPTER VI.— Big Bethel 189 

CHAPTER VII.— Fort Henry 224 

CHAPTER VIII.— General Lander 259 

CHAPTER IX.— General Lyon 306 

CHAPTER X.— Webb's Cross-Roads 390 

CHAPTER XL— The Monitor and Meerimac 452 



THE HEROES 



OF THE 



WAR FOR THE UN^IOI^. 



CHAPTEE I. 

rorxT SUMTER. 



THE Presidential campaign, remarkable for the 
zeal, energy, entlmsiasm, and enmity of tlie 
partisans engaged, for 1860, had just closed. The 
heated passions of men began to subside, while a 
prosperous and tranquil future was confidently an- 
ticipated. It was soon ascertained that the Hon. 
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, w^as elected President. 
In his elevation to the chief magistracy of the United 
States, the principles of a free and liberal govern- 
ment had, after years of conflict, fierce OjDposition, 
and opprobrium, finally triumphed. The party in 
favor of restricted liberty — ^the friends of human 
slavery — ^both l^orth and South, were signally de- 
feated. With this civil achievement the honest, 
loyal, and patriotic citizens of the United States 
were wholly content. They desired to secure to the 
people all the rights and privileges guaranteed by 
the I:^ational Constitution. They desired to break 
up forever, and scatter to the winds, the Southern 
oligarchy that had ruled for many years at Washing- 

(11) 



12 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

ton with an iron hand. The election of Mr. Lincoln 
seemed to accomplish that laudable object. It cer- 
tainly released the country from the control of a 
powerful party, made up of both l!Torthern and 
Southern men, reeking with political corruption. 

The ruin with which the Southern Democracy 
threatened the nation was, it was fondly hoped, 
effectually averted. The future was radiant with 
the most cheering promises of prosperity. The agi- 
tated waters were gradually subsiding, and the calm, 
so essential to national life and vigor, was rapidly 
enveloping the country. It was confidently -expected 
that the discontent of the greedy and aspiring South 
would abate on ascertaining that Mr. Lincoln was 
constitutionally elected to the Presidency of the 
United States. 

But in this every real friend of his country, of its 
greatness, its unity, and its power, was doomed to 
bitter disappointment. The unscrupulous politicians 
of the South had been laboring for months to defeat 
every measure at all likely to heal the sectional 
dissensions and quiet the discontents of the people. 
They assiduously sought a simple pretext for the 
commission of the treason upon which they were 
so intent, and in regard to the necessity of which 
they had previously made up their minds. That 
pretext they professed to find in the election of Mr. 
Lincoln. They were resolved to cut themselves 
loose from their national moorings at all hazards. 

Consequently, soon after the election of Mr. Lin- 
coln, the Southern people assumed a hostile and 
treasonable attitude. They determined, in their 



FORT SUMTER. 13 

follj, to throw off the authority of the Federal 
Government. South Carolina led the van in seced- 
ing from the old Union. With the most indecent 
haste and unaccountable fury they rushed upon the 
precipice of national destruction. They could not 
brook the least delay in securing the phantom for 
which they were throwing away the richest inherit- 
ance. Upon the fatal wings of the whirlwind of 
disloyalty they swept along the highway to inevi- 
table ruin. 

The ink with which the ordinance of secession 
was written was hardly dry when the women of 
Charleston began to scrape lint. I^ever were people 
so infatuated. In a very brief period they changed 
from fellow-citizens to bitter belligerents. "With an 
astonishing indifference to the claims of common 
humanity, and blinded to the desolating effects of 
civil war, they ardently courted indefinite blood- 
shed. They manifested a feverish anxiety to bap- 
tize their treason in human gore. They would not 
be satisfied, and could not be conciliated, until they 
had measured their martial prowess with the mar- 
tial prowess of the loyal States. 

An irritating insolence, the tame endurance of 
which seemed derogatory to ordinary manhood, 
characterized all their actions. They expected to 
have the Federal Government in their foul grasp 
ere the Republican party came into power. To 
achieve this very desirable result, the basis of their 
future success, the most strenuous efforts were made, 
and the most deadly hostility cherished for^^he old 
government. Hopes of intimidating the loyal States, 



14 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

and extorting from them all that they desired, were 
cordially entertained. 

In December, 1860, South Carolina declared her- 
self independent of the authority of the Federal 
Government, and permanently separated from the 
Union of States. But she was not independent of 
nor free from that authority. She was still in the 
clutches of Federal officers. The government reso- 
lutely retained its hold upon this restive, aspiring, 
upstart, and treasonable State. A company of Fed- 
eral artillery, under the command of the gallant 
Major Anderson, occupied and held Fort Moultrie 
right in the teeth of her most populous city. By 
this military occupation, the rebels were chafed al- 
most into frenzy. "With their extravagant notions 
of national superiority, they squirmed and writhed 
under it like a tortured worm. They declared it an 
intolerable badge of their old subjection to ^N^orth- 
ern rule. They could not call themselves freemen 
until the Federal garrison was removed or captured. 
Upon its immediate ejection they were fully intent. 
Their resolution in regard to the garrison of Moul- 
trie was deliberately taken. 

To effectually crush the noble commander of Moul- 
trie and his Spartan band, the insurgents made the 
most ample preparation. Indeed, it vastly exceeded 
in extent and character the magnitude of the work 
to be performed. A loud and urgent call for volun- 
teers was made. To this call there was an ardent 
response. They flocked in by thousands. Companies 
and regiments were formed, officered, and drilled ; 
military stores, in the greatest abundance and variety, 



FORT SUMTER. 15 

were secured, and the discipline, preparatory to tlie 
final assault, was prosecuted with the greatest en- 
thusiasm and characteristic Southern energy. 

But in the mean time Major Anderson, to whom 
was intrusted the very life of our dear country, was 
not an idle nor listless spectator of what was trans- 
piring about him. He was fully apprised of what 
awaited him and his trusty command, though the 
rebels observed the strictest secrecy and manifested 
unabated friendship. He determined to make the 
conspirators earn all the glory to be secured in his 
capture, and, if possible, thwart all their schemes. 
Fort Moultrie was untenable. At best, it was but 
a feeble structure. It could not withstand an ordi- 
nary assault, much less could it resist the great force 
that the rebels would bring against it. To remain 
in Moultrie, thought Major Anderson, was to invite 
an immediate attack and insure an immediate de- 
feat. To continue in Moultrie was equivalent to 
lowering the old flag to insolent treason. To pre- 
vent such a calamity the most seasonable measures 
were promptly taken. 

Major Anderson was not long in determining the 
course of action pointed out by honor, courage, and 
security in that grave emergency. But it was found 
easier to devise a plan than to execute it when de- 
vised. He determined to evacuate Moultrie before 
being attacked by the insurgents, but precisely how 
and when he could not at first determine. He knew 
that all his movements were under the vigilant eyes 
of a suspicious enemy. Though treated with fault- 
less courtesy, he was watched with sleepless con- 



16 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Btancj. IN'otwitlistanding this, lie resolved to evacu- 
ate Fort Moultrie and occupy Fort Sumter. 

Fort Sumter is built upon an artificial island, at the 
mouth of Charleston harbor. It is upward of three 
miles from the city. The base of this island is a 
mud and sand-bank. The bed upon which the fort 
rests is composed of the refuse chips from the gran- 
ite quarries of the Korth. The island required ten 
years for its construction, and cost near a half mill- 
ion dollars". The fortifications erected upon this gran- 
ite island also cost another half million. Though 
incomplete when occupied by Major Anderson, yet 
the work was sufficiently advanced to admit the 
greater portion of its armament. 

Its walls were of solid brick and concrete masonry. 
They were erected close to the water's edge. They 
were twelve feet in thickness and sixty feet high. 
They were pierced for three tiers of guns on the 
north, east, and west exterior sides. 

The fort was designed for an armament of one 
hundred and forty pieces of ordnance of all calibers. 
Two tiers of the guns were under bomb-proof case- 
mates. The third or upper tier was open, or en bar- 
bette. Only seventy-five guns were in position when 
attacked by the rebels. The magazine contained 
several hundred barrels of gunpowder, and an ample 
supply of shot, shell, and powder for a long siege. 
The work was abundantly furnished with water 
from wells in the building. Such was the fort into 
which Major Anderson determined to throw his 
handful of men on the eve of an attack from the 
rebels. He felt that the fort, huge, massive, and 



FORT SUMTER. 17 

strong, was secure against all tlie means tlien at the 
command of the insurgents. Once within its thick 
walls, and under its bomb-proof casemates, he would 
be safe for months at least, and perha^Ds be relieved 
within that time. • 

But the transfer of his entire garrison, equipments, 
and personal effects from Moultrie to Sumter, in the 
face of a vigilant and cunning enemy, was no easy 
matter. Yet the hazardous task had to be under- 
taken. All the risks involved had to be run. Less 
than this would not satisfy the Major's upright and 
loyal conscience, nor his sense of duty to his country 
in his country's hour of betrayal. He profoundly 
felt that his course of conduct, in this critical junc- 
ture, would have a great and modifying influence 
upon the whole future of his country. His position 
was grave with weighty responsibilities, and sufli- 
ciently intricate" and momentous to perplex the sa- 
gacity and baffle the ingenuity of the best and wisest. 
Though he keenly felt that the future safety or ruin 
of the United States might hinge upon his conduct, 
he did not shrink from the responsibility of acting 
for himself in a place into which he had no agency 
in getting. He proved himself equal to the stupen- 
dous occasion, calling for immediate, energetic, and 
prudent activity. His conduct demonstrated that 
he was the right man in the right place at the most 
critical period of our national existence. 

To succeed in placing his command in- Sumter he 
had to resort to stratagem. He had to lull the vigi- 
lance and quiet the suspicions of the jealous con- 
spirators. This remarkable feat was dexterously 
2 " • 



18 THE HEEOES OF THE "WAR FOE THE XJNIOX. 

executed just as the rebels were on the eve of strik- 
ing down this handful of Federal soldiers. 

With a great show of cordial hospitality, the 
Palmettians invited Major Anderson and associated 
officers to partake ,of a Christmas festival. The 
invitation was promptly accepted with apparent 
pleasure. At a glance Major Anderson saw that 
that invitation furnished him with the means of 
solving the perplexing problem of the evacuation 
of Moultrie. His plans were speedily adjusted. On 
" Christmas Eve," on the night of the festival, these 
plans were to be carried into effect. When in the 
hight of their revels, the armless hand of fidelity, 
while tracing the doom of the Southern chivalry 
upon the walls of their banqueting hall, was to 
strike them dumb with consternation and cover 
them with confusion. Major Anderson determined 
to reach Sumter in safety in spite of their sagacity 
and vigilance. He would not be beguiled into false 
and fatal security by their courtesy. To his faith- 
ful officers the miniitm of his arrangements were 
submitted. 

At a seasonable hour, Major Anderson was the 
distinguished guest of the "rounded aristocracy" 
of Charleston.'^ He and his officers were cordially 
greeted and grandly entertained. The Major was 
unusually vivacious. He had an unusual flow of 
spirits. He deported himself as if not a solitary 
care sat upon his serene and majestic brow, and 
acted as if he had not the remotest susj^icion of the 



*" Charleston Journal. 



FORT SUMTER. 19 

treasonable and murderous intentions of his enter- 
tainers. A deep and double game was being played. 
The most expert would win. The conspirators re- 
sorted to this frank and open method to blind their 
victim to the fearful fate to which they were hurry- 
ing him. They remorselessly prostituted the sacred 
privileges and holy immunities of the hospitality of 
an invited guest to consummate their infernal pro- 
jects. They knew that the least suspicion of their 
scheme would inevitably defeat it ; hence they op- 
pressed Major Anderson with delicate attentions, and 
annoyed him with their courteous aifability. But he 
was not deceived. He knew the profound knavery 
and consummate villainy of those with whom he 
was surrounded. Though smiling upon him with 
the innocent sweetness of an angel, he knew that, 
at that moment, nothing w^ould delight them so 
much as the shedding of his life-blood. In no way 
did he betray any of his suspicions. He labored to 
favor and deepen the delusion into which they had 
fallen, and under which they were -laboring respect- 
ing himself, and, at the same time, kept from them 
all knowledge of his counterplot. He played his 
part of the intricate and delicate game with mas- 
terly skill. His simulated indifference to his mourn- 
ful situation and affected hilarity had their desired 
effect. The chivalry felt confident that an officer so 
little influenced by the misfortunes of his country 
could not be formidable as an enemy, and would not 
be likely to undertake any hazardous enterprise. 
They were disposed to rest easy respecting the fu- 
ture. But they were deceived. They were defeated 



20 THE HEEOES OE THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

at their own game. Tliey were lulled into fatal 
negligence. At that very hour arrangements for 
the speedy and instant evacuation of Moultrie were 
being completed. The garrison, while its officers 
were occupying the attention of the rebels, was pre- 
paring every thing for a triumphant movement upon 
Sumter at an early hour of the night. 

To deepen the impression that his gay and easy 
manners had made upon his unrelenting jailers, and 
to throw them still more off* their guard, Major 
Anderson pretended to drink deeply, even to intoxi- 
cation.* Over this the brave chivalry chuckled with 
superlative delight. " He had placed himself in 
their power. He had virtually betrayed his govern- 
ment." 

At an early hour of the festivities Major Ander- 
son proposed returning to the fort. To this move- 
ment his entertainers objected just enough to keep 
up appearances. They were really pleased at his 
early withdrawal. It aided them in carrying out 
their concerted measures. To assure the conspira- 
tors that he was unable to manage any affair re- 
quiring skill and energy, he had himself assisted to 
his quarters, as if utterly unfit to take care of him- 
self. The ruse took superbly. The rebel sentinels, 
girdling Moultrie with their bayonets, thought that, 
under existing circumstances, with perfect safety to 
their cause, they might relax their vigilance, and, 
like their superiors, indulge in slight excesses. They 
rationally thought that an officer under the neces* 

* Taken from a letter of one wlio was present. 



FORT SUMTER. 21 

eity of being brought to bis quarters could not be 
very dangerous. This was what Major Anderson 
anticipated. The coast was clear. The eye of the 
guard was withdrawn but for a moment, yet that 
moment was sufficient for the intrepid Major and 
his brave command. 

In the festive chambers of the gay chivalry there 
was great exultation upon the departure of Major 
Anderson. As they both feared and respected him, 
they congratulated each other upon the certain, 
easy, and immediate occupation of Moultrie, and 
the degradation of the American flag. At early 
dawn the fort and its garrison were to be captured. 

But, as soon as Major Anderson reached his quar- 
ters, he leaped to his feet, " clothed and in his right 
mind." He never was cooler, soberer, and more 
self-poised than at that grave period. Of his great 
powers he never had fuller possession than at that 
memorable hour. For once he had outwitted his 
shrewd adversaries. But not a moment was to be 
lost. "While the "rounded aristocracy" were danc- 
ing, feasting, and drinking, he must act, and act 
promptly. Moments were rapidly flying, and the 
clifierence between the prompt employment of every 
one, and the loss of any, might inckide all the dif- 
ference there is between the noblest liberty and the 
most abject vassalage. 

" Every man to his post," shouted the Major, with 
a calm, clear, and steady voice, but with a flashing 
eye. Every man knew his duty and promptly per- 
formed it. Moultrie v/as soon evacuated. In the 
gloom and silence of the night the muffled oars car- 



22 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR EOR THE UNION. 

ried fhe guardians of liberty to tlieir new abiding 
place. In a few hours — ^liours of exhausting toil 
and paralyzing anxiety — the "forlorn hope" of the 
nation was secure in Sumter. His friendly shelter 
was gained. Gratitude to God swelled every heart, 
and thanksgiving jlowed from every tongue. The 
perilous enterprise was a glorious success. The en- 
tire garrison, with its effects, wives, and children, 
reached the fort without encountering the least op- 
position. 

The ncAV day, a Christmas morning remarkable 
for its historic associations, dawned in beauty upon 
a moving world. The Southern aristocracy awoke 
to a mortifying sense of their signal defeat. They 
beheld, with a bewildered stare, protruding eye- 
balls, and exasperated souls, the smoke of the burn- 
ing Moultrie leisurely ascending to and obscuring 
the heavens. With deep chagrin and impotent 
wrath they saw the hated " Stars and Stripes " float- 
ing out in proud defiance over the walls of Sumter. 
It was too bad ! They were inconsolable. Their 
curses, though unavailing, were loud, long, and 
deep. They readily realized the extent of the ca- 
lamity that had come upon them. It seemed almost 
irreparable. To recover tlieir lost ground, and se- 
cure the fugitive garrison, would require months of 
toil and millions of money, unless the cringing 
President, in obedience to his haughty Southern 
masters, ordered the gallant Major back to the fire- 
blackened walls of old Moultrie. Of this they had 
strong hopes. They knew that Buchanan was their 
supple tool. But yet they could not forgive the 



FORT STJMTEB. 23 

Major for so superbly circumventing them, nor tliem- 
selves for letting him oft' so easily. Their chagrin 
was fruitless ; their wrath was ineftectual. To dis- 
lodge the Major at present was wholly out of the 
question. Their only expedient, if the accommo- 
dating President failed them, was to prepare for 
the assault of the fort. It was a bitter, hitter potion, 
but they had to take it. 

In this act Major Anderson and his loyal band 
displayed the most heroic patriotism. To stem the 
fierce current of treason setting in against them 
with such vigor, required much more than ordinary 
courage. They might have very plausibly said : 
" We are a mere handful in all the hostile South. 
We can be crushed as easily as the moth. The 
Federal Government will not reinforce us. Resist- 
ance can be of no real advantage. It will only 
exasperate the rebels, and render them more bitterly 
hostile. We had much better yield without resist- 
ance to superior numbers, and save our lives." But 
they did not thus meanly speak ; nor did they thus 
tamely act. They clearly ascertained their duty, 
and then promptly performed it. They felt that 
the very existence and honor of the whole country 
were intrusted to their custody. They, therefore, 
preferred dying any manner of death but the death 
of traitors or cowards. They preferred any other 
kind of infamy to the infamy of betraying their 
country in its hour of misfortune. At every risk, 
at any cost of life or suftering, they resolved to be 
faithful to the great trust reposed in them. While 
they could — until overpowered by the vast rebel 



24 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

hordes — 'tliey purposed holding South Carolina for 
the Federal Government. They stood in the Amer- 
ican Thermopyloe. 

That the vast importance of Major Anderson's 
removal to, and occupation of, Eort Sumter is not 
appreciated by the masses is quite apparent to the 
careful observer. It was a most dexterous move- 
ment, but it was much more. It was stupendous 
in salutary results. It disconcerted the whole horde 
of conspirators, and unmasked the malignant char- 
acter of their schemes. It was a bomb-shell thrown 
into the midst of their secret conclaves. It scat- 
tered the official traitors at "Washington, and drove 
them from the cabinet. Had Floyd, Thom^Dson, and 
Cobb remained in the cabinet during the remainder 
of Buchanan's term, the country would have been 
utterly ruined, and the South would have held the 
North helpless at her feet. That these despicable 
men, these atrocious traitors would have retained 
their places in the departments of the government, 
had Anderson remained in Moultrie, does not admit 
of a single doubt. Anderson's occupation of Sum- 
ter, without authority, was the cause of the with- 
drawal of that triad of traitors. Consequently, 
Major Anderson's bold and successful movement 
into Sumter saved the country from immediate and 
hopeless ruin. 

Had not this occurrence taken the Federal Gov- 
ernment out of the hands of these plotters of trea- 
Bon, they would have employed their powers and 
used their offices for its destruction. Of this there 
can be no doubt. But, fortunately for us, the mine 



FORT SUMTER. 25 

they were springing under tlie feet of tlie people 
for their destruction was discovered before it was 
Bet off. Major Anderson's skillful move upon the 
chess-board of events deranged the whole game the 
South was so ingeniously playing. A new deal had 
to be made. Holt, Dix, and Stanton, took the 
places of Floyd, Cobb, and Thompson. Buchanan 
was compelled, against his inclination, by the will 
of the people, to indorse Anderson's action and 
order his continuance in Sumter. The country was 
saved. 

In the mean time Southern treason rolled on, 
widening and deepening in its seeming triumphs. 
The lethargy and weakness of the Federal authori- 
ties — if nothing worse — induced it to uncover, to 
some extent, its hideous features. The government, 
in the concluding months of Buchanan's dissolute 
Administration, seemed in collusion with the leading 
traitors. Its imbecile ^nd corrupt head seemed to 
be wholly in the power and doing the bidding of 
those unscrupulous Catalines. For four years they 
shaped Buchanan's policy, and compelled him, by 
threats or promises, to yield to their insolent exac- 
tions. Though he felt that those political adven- 
turers and desperadoes were his most congenial 
associates, aryi though he was indebted to them for 
his magisterial office and honors, yet he fretted un- 
der his restraints, and became occasionally restive 
under his load of infamy. Buchanan was not 
wholly insensible to the odium attaching to his ex- 
treme partisan course, and occasionally manifested 
that sensibility to an extent that created suspicion 
3 



26 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

and distrust in the minds of the aristocratic insur- 
gents. They began to doubt the fidelity of their 
minion. They feared that through timidity he 
would desert their cause. He, alone, could cause 
them defeat. In his hands was the molding of the 
rebel future. No one could serve them half so well, 
or injure them half so much. But to prevent his 
desertion at the very moment he was most needed, 
and at the very moment success seemed ready to 
crown their efforts, they sought to inextricably in- 
volve him in the guilt of insurrection. If he were 
wholly committed to the side of treason, and pub- 
licly identified with those who were attempting to 
dismember the Union, no fears of his recreancy need 
be entertained. They would fetter him to the car 
of treason. But Buchanan appeared to hesitate. 
He dreaded the wrath of the people more than the 
infamy of treachery. Obviously his heart was with 
the traitors, if not with thQ treason ; and he would 
have handed over to Jeff*. Davis, the arch-repudia- 
tor of sacred obligations, his Capital, had he not 
blenched before the indignation of the loyal masses, 
and shrank, coward-like, from the vengeance of the 
betrayed ]^orth. For weeks he veered about from 
point to point, desirous to conciliate the treacherous 
South and disarm the vindictiveness of the loyal 
states. His conduct dissatisfied both the loyal North 
and disloyal South. Both alike execrated him. 
Both regarded him as utterly unworthy of confi- 
dence, while his degradation of his great office, 
and his betrayal of his great trust, had ceased to be 
a question. Had his courage been equal to his 



FORT SU^ITER. 27 

devotion to the interests of the South, the ]S"orth 
would have heen ruined and the nation crushed. 

The hesitancy and pusillanimity of Buchanan, 
while they disappointed the rehels, and robbed them 
of the hope of the peaceful establishment of their 
slaveocratic government, did not prevent the occur- 
rence of the most startling events. The political 
elements of the nation were heaving and seething 
like a boiling caldron. The earthquake tread of 
giant Treason shook the continent from one extrem- 
ity to the other. Society was convulsed as if in the 
awful throes of dissolution. The Southern mind 
was thoroughly demoralized, and the rebel masses 
reeled from the intoxicating effects of the new doc- 
trines they had adopted. Men never lived so fast 
nor learned so rapidly as they did in the infantile 
days of the insurrection. The boy, by a mighty 
stride and with a giant effort, placed himself in the 
position and assumed the responsibilities of the man. 
These were strange, fearful times ; and strange, fear- 
ful events rapidly followed each other. 

The first scene in the bloody conspiracy was about 
to culminate. The South was most bitter in its 
denunciation of Major Anderson, and, in the most 
peremptory manner, demanded his return to Moul- 
trie. Alarmed by the blustering menaces of the 
conspirators, Buchanan would have complied with 
their insolent demand had not the loyal men in the 
cabinet and the loyal people in the ^N'orth taken a 
decided and menacing stand against it. The virtu- 
ous Floyd threatened to resign his seat in the cab- 
inet if the demand of the South was not complied 



28 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOJ?". 

with. To prevent sucli an irreparable calamity be- 
falling the model Administration, the snbtile Presi-^ 
dent was about to dishonor the intrepid soldier by 
sending him back to that insecure fort, and where 
he would fall an easy prey into the vindictive hands 
of the rebels. In soliciting the concurrence of his 
loyal counselors, he first heard the muttering thun- - 
ders of the storm of execration that would spend its 
fury upon him if he perpetrated so atrocious a crime. 
He abruptly paused. He shrunk back, appalled by 
threatenino: dano;er. It was safest to discard the 
South. Major Anderson was permitted to remain 
in Sumter, and the dishonorable Floyd was compelled 
to retire from the cabinet. 

Nevertheless, Buchanan determined that the Ma- 
jor and his brave men should remain at the mercy 
of the insurgent hordes. He promised the leading 
conspirators that they should not be molested in 
their infernal work ; that Major Anderson should 
not fire upon them unless attacked ; that he should 
not be reinforced while he was the President ; and 
that he should not be supplied with either military 
or commissary stores. Thus this bad, feeble man 
basely deserted the noblest of soldiers to inevitable 
destruction. 'No darker crime could blacken a na- 
tion's record or stain the soul of man than that act 
of treachery with which Buchanan wound up his 
mournful and infamous Administration. 

At once the rebels commenced the erection of bat- 
teries with which to demolish Sumter and capture 
Anderson. Fort after fort sprang up around the 
Major, and within easy range of his guns. He could 



FORT SUMTER. 29 

easily have prevented tliem from constructing any 
works, had he been at liberty to act as loyalty, com- 
mon honesty, and common sense dictated. But he 
was ordered to not molest the insurgents in their 
treasonable work. ISTot a gun was to be fired unless 
first attacked. He was compelled to passively look 
on while his enemies constructed about him on every 
hand the agencies of his destruction. To compel 
him to follow this line of conduct to advance the 
rebel interests was most infamous. There was noth- 
ing to justify such an order, but much to condemn 
it. By it the rebels were not conciliated, but in- 
flated with insufferable arrogance. The Major's 
ready hands were tied by the imbecile' and treason- 
able Commander-in-chief of the United States Army. 
He was necessitated to behold himself girdled with 
formidable fortifications, from whose embrasures 
frowned upon him guns of the largest caliber. The 
worse than inactivity imposed upon him by the 
occupant of the White House fretted him beyond 
patient endurance. He earnestly begged permission 
to open his guns upon the rebel works while under 
construction. But this could not be. It would have 
irritated the dear aristocracy, and taken from them 
the means of crushing the United States garrison, 
and hurling to the earth the flag of the Union. 
Not a hair of a rebel's head was to be harmed, un- 
less self-preservation rendered it necessary. 

Refused the poor privilege of preventing the reb- 
els from constructing engines of war for his de- 
struction, he implored the w^himpering old man at 
Washington to so reinforce him that he could sue- 



80 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

cessfully defend himself when assailed by the bat- 
teries in course of erection. To this just and rea- 
sonable request, enforced by the presence, tears, and 
entreaties of the Major's wife, a deaf ear was turned, 
while the suppliant was repelled by a stern, cold coun- 
tenance. Buchanan had, by violating his oath of 
office, promised the leading traitors that, so long as 
he had the control of national affairs, no attempt 
would be made to suppress treason or interfere with 
their nefarious schemes. He kept faith with the 
conspirators, but betrayed his great trust. Like a 
hoary traitor, lost to all sense of moral propriety, 
Buchanan spent the last months of his corrupt and 
ignoble Administration in aiding and abetting the 
assassins of the country that made him all he was, 
except his imbecility and meanness. He tamely sur- 
rendered himself to the custody and control of the 
leading rebels with a heartiness of which the most 
cringing and accommodating vassal might well be 
ashamed. But he experienced neither shame nor 
remorse. He had sunk so low, and was so petrified 
by political recreancy, that he appeared absolutely 
emotionless. He became the supple minion of the 
Southern interests from choice and moral perversity. 
He outstripped the fleetest in the race of infamy. 
When the conspirators could use him no longer, and 
after he had contributed to their success to the ut- 
most extent of his official ability, they contemptu- 
ously flung him aside as a worthless tool. To what 
extent Buchanan is justly responsible for the exist- 
ence and character of-i^the war that has desolated the 
fairest portion of the United States, never can be 



FORT SUMTER. 31 

fully known. Yet it is certain that the responsibil- 
ity of no one man is greater than that of the ex- 
President. The more fully the preliminary steps 
toward the great rebellion are known, the more fully 
will his deep and awful guilt appear. To him the 
ghosts of the slaughtered thousands will say, " Thou 
didst it !" 

But all this time — while sharing in the advant- 
ages of Buchanan's policy of neutrality — while the 
expiring Democratic Administration was lying su- 
pinely upon its back — the rebels were pushing their 
treasonable conquests with the utmost zeal in other 
portions of the cotton-growing states. To their bold 
aggressions the Federal Govei-nment was not inclined 
to ofter any effectual resistance. Meeting with no 
opposition, the conspirators took fort after fort from 
the United States. To do this was not the least 
difficult. I^ot one of the forts was garrisoned with 
any thing like a full complement of men. In some 
of them were only a- few worn-out, decrepid veterans, 
occupying them to have a home and to take care 
of the government property. Their boasted con- 
quests were achieved over cripples — ^bloodless, and 
as equally without honor as without resistance. It 
was thus that Forts Pulaski and Jackson, in Georgia ; 
Morgan and Gaines, in Alabama ; Macon and Cas- 
well, in J^orth Carolina ; Moultrie and Castle Pinck- 
ney, in South Carolina ; Jackson, St. Philip, and 
Pike, in Louisiana, and others, were taken. The 
enormity of those acts, and the magnitude of those 
thefts, may be seen in the facts that these forts 
mounted nine hundred and thirty-five guns, and cost 



32 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tlie government for tlieir erection, exclusive of tlieir 
armament, five millions, seven Imnclred and two thou- 
sand, three hundred and thirty-seven dollars ! These 
treasonable outrages upon the property of the parent 
government were perpetrated at the command of 
the Governors of the several states in which they 
were located. 

These trifling and discreditable successes filled the 
rebels with the most unbounded confidence in them- 
selves and in their cause. They did not doubt their 
ability to vanquish any number of " Yankees." 
They entertained the most sanguine and extrava- 
gant hopes of the future. They conceived and 
cherished the most contemptible opinion of North- 
ern patriots. They promised themselves the greatest 
success w^ith the least expenditure of life and ma- 
terial. They did not dream that the loyal states 
would resist their claims " to the shedding of blood." 
The Korth had always yielded to the demands of the 
South, however extravagant, and always did their 
imperious bidding, however unreasonable ; and they 
expected to find the same IlTorthern suppleness now. 
Indeed, they had promises to that eftect. They 
could not persuade themselves that the I^orth, when 
wdiolly in their clutches, w^ould prove refractory. 
They felt confident, from the repeated assurances 
of its unprincipled leaders, that the great Demo- 
cratic party would heartily co-operate with them. 
Of the final successful issue of their aftairs they 
seemed to have no doubt. But it was not long 
until they began to modify their opinions. Their 



FORT SUMTER. 33 

sentiments of men and things were about to be 
revolutionized in the severe school of experience. 

For the time being the insolence of the leading 
conspirators seemed to be on the increase. The 
period for curtailing their insufferable vanity had 
not yet arrived. They still thought and spoke of 
themselves as, par excellence, the ruling caste. Any 
opinion uttered in opposition to this vanity-flatter- 
ing sentiment was proudly and coarsely scouted. 
They madly moved on in massive columns to com- 
pass their own ruin, as if going to a banquet. They 
were wholly occupied with the idea that the Korth 
was a pusillanimous and subjugated race. They 
could not endure any restraint or interference with 
their favorite schemes. 

The Star of the "West left the harbor of Isqw 
York on the 5th of January. She was ladened 
with commissary stores, ammunition, and two hun- 
dred and fifty men. General Scott, the I^estor of 
the republican court, determined to relieve the 
garrison of Sumter. It was purposed to secretly 
achieve this grand result. General Scott shrank 
with horror from the shedding of blood. Through 
secret and skillful movements he hoped to accom- 
plish the former and avoid the latter. But, un- 
fortunately for the garrison, the Korth abounded 
with secession sympathizers, copperheads, and vile- 
hearted rebels. Through foul and fair means they 
learned the destination and object of the out-going 
vessel. In a few hours after she had left her moor- 
ings the Charlestonians were informed, by the vilest 
of traitors, of the departure of the Star of the 



34 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION.' 

West, of her destination, and of lier purposes. This 
treachery was wholly unknown to the loyal Federal 
officers. While General Scott was congratulating 
himself on the probable success of his bold expedi- 
ent to relieve the starving garrison, the people of 
Charleston were preparing to defeat the benevolent 
designs of the i^orthern vessel. The buoys, sights, 
and ranges of Charleston harbor were hastil}^ re- 
moved, and every index to the channel obliterated. 
Captain McGowan's plan to enter the harbor and 
reach the fort in the night had to be wholly aban- 
doned. Disappointed and baffled by the action of 
the traitors of ISTew York and Charleston, he was 
compelled, before moving in, to await the approach 
of the morning outside of the harbor. 

In consonance with the idea of beins* the abso- 
lutely dominant and ruling race, the Star of the 
West, without any armament, and loaded with un- 
armed men, when attempting to relieve the garrison 
of Sumter, was fired into b}^ the rebels on the 9th 
of January, 1861. To the first aggressive shot she 
sent a noble answer, by unfurling to the wind the 
red, white, and blue of our national colors. From 
Morris Island seventeen guns sent their iron mes- 
sages after the noble vessel. Then, totally ignorant 
of every thing but that the old, time-honored flag 
was assailed, the garrison nobly went to work. The 
artillerists were at their stations, and the great guns 
of Sumter were run out and made ready for action. 
But just as the signal to fire was about to be given, 
the roughly-handled Star of the West changed her 
course and moved out seaward. Had Major Ander- 



FORT SUMTER. 85 

son known tlie errand of the vessel tliat floated the 
colors of the Union, he wonld have scattered the 
battery of Morris Island to the winds, and Snmter 
would have been relieved. But not a word of the 
project had been communicated to him by the au- 
thorities at Washington. Hence his patient delay 
and seeming hesitancy. Had all the facts in the 
case been his, Morris Island would not have escaped 
with the impunity she did. But perhaps all was 
for the best. 

In firing into this unarmed government steamer, 
the rebels committed a great mistake and a foul 
crime. Out of sheer wantonness they perpetrated 
this deed of wrong, unparalleled in enormity. In 
this case the Charlestonians acted as if there was no 
other power in the land but the Southern oligarchy, 
a^d no other soldiers in the country but those of 
the upstart Confederacy. They regarded themselves 
omnipotent. To themselves those shots from the 
battery of Morris Island were more fatal than to the 
Star of the West. The heavy boom of those guns, 
as their leaden thunder rolled out over the deep 
sea, and shook the hamlets on its picturesque shores, 
was the death-knell of their boasted ascendency. 
The firing of those guns initiated a revolution des- 
tined to wipe out Southern institutions, and crush 
forever the Southern insolence from which the North 
had suffered for many years. 

The firing into the Star of the West, carrying 
bread to the famishing garrison of Sumter, was one 
of the most barbarous acts of which insurgents, 
proverbially cruel, have been guilty. In the whole 



36 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNI02T. 

liistory of European insniTections or revolutions, 
it finds no parallel, except in the horrid events 
of the French " reign of terror." It was an act of 
brutality alone congenial to the taste and nature 
of savages. By that deed the bread of common 
existence was snatched from the mouths of hungry 
women and children, as well as from the mouths 
of loyal soldiers. Southern chivalry, before any 
formal declaration of hostilities, ere it was known 
whether the government would yield to their claims 
or attempt to coerce them into obedience, resolved 
to extirpate that heroic garrison and its sagacious 
and intrepid leader by the slow process of starva- 
tion. They dreaded their loyalty and feared their 
courage. They seemed to prefer starving them into 
a surrender to defeating them in honorable warfare. 
To the shame, dishonor, and infamy of the vaunted 
chivalry of the South, let this be written and re- 
membered. There and then a career of conduct 
was inaugurated as heartless and as cruel as it was 
nnjust, unusual, and disgraceful. The want of com- 
mon honesty and common humanity rendered them 
monsters of iniquity, and drew upon them more 
detestation and hatred than ever fell to the lot of 
mortals. The inquisitors of Spain and Italy were 
merciful when compared with the Southern torturers 
of the Federal prisoners. From the period that they 
maliciously smiled upon the pale, wan countenances 
of the hungry and disappointed mothers and chil- 
dren in Sumter, and scornfully laughed at the angry 
menaces of the fathers of those children, when the 
Star of the West was compelled to return to the 



FORT SUMTER. 37 

Xorth. without being able to deliver her cargo of 
Biibsistence, up to the end of the rebellion — through- 
out all those weary and awful years — they were the 
same unfeeling and hardened monsters, the same 
unfeeling tormentors of helpless men, taking the 
greatest pleasure in the agony of their victims. 
Their coarse, brutal inhumanity throws that of 
James the Second into the shade. Yet, after all 
this, and during all this, they claimed to be the 
only gentlemen in the United States ! * 

The feeble stock of patience of the South Caro- 
lina rebels was about exhausted. The presence of 
the loathed Stars and Stripes, proudly waving over 
Sumter, constantly reminded them of their humili- 
ating failure on Christmas morning, and of their 
liability to the punishment of traitors. They de- 
termined to remove that source of great annoyance. 
The old, time-honored flag, the whole history of 
which is glorious, must be lowered by their villain- 
ous hands, and trailed in the slime of treason. For 
the capture of Sumter the work of preparation had 
been completed. General Beauregard had been pres- 
ent, and personally superintended every thing. ^N^ow 
every thing was ready, and ready with his approval. 

General Beauregard belonged to, and was a prom- 
inent member of one of the wealthy Creole families 
of the South. These opulent families constituted a 
social aristocracy of sugar, like the Virginia aris- 
tocracy of oysters, and the Carolina aristocracy of 
"cotton. They spoke miserably defective French, 

* See chapter in another volume on " Rebel Barbarities." 



S8 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UKCON. 

ostentatioUvsly sneered at Bonapartism, and ardently 
adored the memory of the cruel Bourbons. They 
were great and dexetrous speculators in negroes, 
coined millions of gold out of the sweat and blood 
of the poor African race, "bitterly detested every 
thing of a Yankee or Saxon origin, and arrogantly 
claimed an affinity with the Roman races of the 
world. Intensely proud, and, like all democratic 
aristocracies, very ignorant and egotistical, they re- 
garded themselves the natural rulers of the west- 
ern hemisphere. They sanguinely expected, at some 
future period, to establish a Gallic empire in the 
Mississippi Valley, with a prince of Orleans or Bur- 
gundy enthroned in ISTew Orleans, and a gay and 
gorgeous court fluttering about him. For the reali- 
zation o'f those wild dreams of royal magnificence 
and princely opulence, the present conspiracy opened 
tip to them the most flattering prospects. Since 
the English drove them, like beasts of burden, from 
Arcadia, they evinced but little or no interest in 
that which was transpiring about them, until the 
opening of the slaveholders' rebellion. For upward 
of a hundred years they have been in a torpid state. 
But from this long and profound slumber they awoke 
to a new and vigorous life. They ever before 
obeyed the Federal Government with reluctance, 
and submitted to its supremacy with menacing sul- 
lenness. But when the South sounded the tocsin 
of rebellion, they rose up en masse, and, throwing 
aside all reserve, declared themselves absolutely for 
the conspiracy and conspirators. 

From this haughty but imbecile race of freedom- 



FORT SUMTER. 89 

haters sprang the great General Beauregard. In 
him centered all the virtues and vices that charac- 
terized the Creole families of Louisiana. He was 
proud of his descent, and gloried in his anti-repuh- 
lican peculiarities. In the fell conspiracy that spread 
itself over the whole South, he was one of the most 
conspicuous and energetic actors. Of the revolt of 
the South from the JS^orth he was ever one of the 
most ardent and persistent advocates. The- idea of 
being under the rule of a plebeian President was 
insupportably galling to his foolish pride. He read- 
ily ran the risk of losing every thing, even life it- 
self, rather than submit to such a necessity. To his 
inordinate vanity, to his erroneous notions of gov- 
ernment, and the relation of one race to another, 
he was prepared to sacrifice every thing. To grat- 
ify his selfish inclinations he did not hesitate in- 
curring the infamy and fate of treason. 

He seemed destitute of mioral principles, and had 
no scruples of conscience respecting the propriety 
of the means of self-gratification. A graduate from 
"West Point, he attempted to deal a death-blow to. 
the government that made him all he was as a 
scholar and soldier. Without the least twinge of 
conscience — rather with positive delight — he at- 
tempted to stab to the heart the parent that gave 
him military distinction, and that secured to him 
social and political influence. For his country he' 
felt not the least affection. He regarded his pa- 
triotism utterly worthless — an incumbrance — unless 
it contributed to the realization of his ambitious 
projects. Than Beauregard no man within the 



40 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

bounds of the United States was more aspiring or 
more unscrupulous in the choice of means to attain 
his object. His vaulting ambition and utter want 
of modesty would have led him to accept a crown 
and scepter with the coolness and satisfaction of one 
to whom they legally belonged. To rule the South 
as an absolute sovereign was his heaii ideal of great- 
ness, grandeur, and happiness. Jeff. Davis lay 
across his path to the chief seat of power. This 
made him the deadly enemy of the former.* He 
assailed him on every fitting occasion, opposed his 
Administration, and took great delight in thwart- 
ing all his public measures. Beauregard paused at 
nothing that would advance his darling project. 

*■ Immediately subsequent to liis unexpected victory upon the 
Plains of Manassas, Beauregard was intent upon capturing Wash- 
ington, besides killing the President and General Scott. But to such 
an action, for reasons best known to himself, Jeff. Davis was stren- 
uously opposed. He feared, in the event of his success, the popu- 
larity of the Southern favorite. Davis could not brook a rival even 
in Beauregard. Indeed, the rivalry of any other general would 
have been borne with more patience. 

Of the aspirations and wicked purposes of Beauregard, the fol- 
lowing dispatch, written soon after the battle of the Plains of Ma- 
nassas, will furnish a complete idea: "I shall cross," he says, "the 
river above Little Falls, on Sunday, at 2 P. M. Signal, red and 
white rockets from Turner's Hill. For God's sake, don't fail us! 
Fire the city at all points agreed upon. Dispatch Lincoln and Scott, 
as you suggest, and let the execution of our plot be perfect." This 
nefarious "plot" was frustrated by the capture of this dispatch and 
the good Union man — such only as the Capital fosters and contains — • 
to whom it was addressed. The city of Washington would have 
been fired in scores of places, and the President massacred, had 
not this note fallen into loyal hands. This note breathes the ma- 
lignant spirit of secessiouism. 



FORT SUMTER. 41 

To make himself the first man in the South, and 
to acquire a controlling influence in state aftairs, he 
expended thousands of money, and sacrificed thou- 
sands of lives. The elevation of himself was that 
alone for which he especially cared. Every person 
and every measure that did not contribute to this 
were unsparingly denounced. Every thing between 
him and the object of his ambition was ruthlessly 
crushed or harshly thrust aside. He afiected the 
airs and claimed the powers of the daring Cor- 
sican. His energy was as tireless, and his industry 
as ceaseless, as his aspirations were boundless. He 
cared not for the outlay of time, means, ease, life, 
nor happiness, so he succeeded. Pompous and vapor- 
ing, yet his more than ordinary abilities, and great 
application to his profession, rendered him a dan- 
gerous man in any public station. 

He was popular with the South, but popular by 
accident. By some means he succeeded in securing 
the regards, and gaining the confidence, of the sol- 
diers under his own command. Silent, haughty, 
and austere, he was naturally calculated to repel, 
rather than attract and win. But to win them to 
his person and secure them to his cause, he adopted 
the common soldier's mode of life, and shared with 
him in the hardships of the camp. To be the idol 
of the army was his first aim. Without its entire 
and hearty co-operation he could do nothing. In 
this he succeeded to a considerable extent. His 
name electrified the rebel soldiery, as the name of 
Napoleon once stirred the hearts of the French 
legions. He became a power in the South. 
4 



42 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

At one time the rebel army had more confidence 
in him than it had in any other chieftain. That his 
abilities, though not of the highest order, and his 
fervent enthusiasm, though arising from a corrupt 
source, entitled him to this preference, there can be 
no doubt. Though proud, vain, and cruel, he had the 
rare faculty of foregoing the gratification of his pas- 
sions, when such gratification would have retarded his 
success. While inheriting the impulsiveness of the 
French Creole, he had the stolidness and self-com- 
mand of the stoic, and Teutonic coolness, when his 
interest demanded it. Though an Italian in greedy 
thirst for vengeance upon an enemy, yet he had the 
ability to patiently and calmly await the occurrence 
of a perfectly convenient season for its infliction, if 
his aftairs required the delay. He could readily and 
completely cloak his real feelings, and blandly wear 
a mask. He was a rare combination of the impetu- 
ous and deliberate in action. For weeks and months 
he could wait, crouching like the stealthy panther, 
for the appearance of his enemy ; and then, with 
the ferocity of the tiger and the swiftness of the 
eagle's swoop, he would pounce upon him with the 
mightier force foi' having waited. He was an enemy 
not to be despised. If he could not command respect, 
he extorted fear and created alarm. 

Such was the rebel oneneral about to attack the 
brave, cool, and clear-headed Anderson. The for- 
mer had laid his plans so well, and was permitted 
by the accommodating President of the United 
States to prosecute them so eftectually, that failure 
seemed utterly impossible. 



FOKT SUMTER. 43 

Sumter was girdled with strong and skillfully 
constructed fortifications. Seventeen forts and bat- 
teries looked out upon it with their huge black eves. 
Of these, one was Fort Moultrie, previously evacu- 
ated and burned by Major Anderson. It had been 
laboriously repaired and greatly strengthened. Its 
walls were fifteen feet in thickness. It mounted 
eleven guns of the heaviest caliber. A portion of 
its armament consisted of mortars. With these hot 
shot were thrown into Sumter, and its woodwork 
set on fire. 

JSText in importance was the iron floating bat- 
terv. It was anchored near Sullivan's Island, and 
commanded the barbette guns of Sumter. Con- 
structed of palmetto logs, and sheathed with rail- 
road iron, it was regarded impregnable. It mounted 
four of the heaviest guns that were in use. It re- 
quired sixty men to work them. From this bat- 
tery, Beauregard, its inventor, expected the vastest 
results. It was regarded one of the most formidable 
engines of war that ever floated in American waters. 

Kearest to Sumter was constructed an iron bat- 
tery on Gumming' s Point. It consisted of a frame- 
work of pine logs heavily plated with railroad iron. 
It was covered with the same material. Its port- 
holes opened and closed with iron shutters of the 
heaviest character. It mounted three heavy Colum- 
biads. It was both a novel and powerful battery. 

Fort Johnston consisted of two large sand-bat- 
teries. Its armament was made up of mortar and 
siege-guns. On the southern extremity of Folly 
Island was Castle Pinckney. The armament of this 



44 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

fort was thirty-one guns and several mortars. These 
were the most formidable of the rebel works, though 
but a small portion of them. 

The rebels were ready to hurl against the lone 
Sumter the missiles of destruction from a thousand 
cannon. These various works were manned by 
seven thousand soldiers. Seven thousand rebels were 
thus pitted against seventy -five patriots occupying 
but one fort ! The overwhelming magnitude of the 
rebel force did not, in the least, intimidate this 
handful of brave men. Deity and right were on 
their side. Theirs Avere the emotions of true men 
engaged in a good cause. 

The eventful period at length arrived. For weeks 
the loyal Korth had been listening to hear the thun- 
der of rebel artillery. The terrible crash and deaf- 
ening roar had come. The first hostile gun fired 
upon the American continent for fifty years was 
then heard. The long and painful period of sus- 
pense was over. On the 11th of April, 1861, Gen- 
eral Beauregard summoned Major Anderson to sur- 
render his force and fort. This he courteously but 
firmly declined doing. His strong sense of duty to 
his country would not permit him to so act. He 
and his brave command preferred dying at their 
post to that of surrendering, without an eftbrt to de- 
fend, it. The gloomiest, and yet the proudest, hour 
of their existence had arrived. Their situation 
was of the most perilous character. Their rations 
were nearly exhausted. There was no prospect of 
a timely supply reaching them. Even if they suc- 
cessfully withstood Beauregard's fiery attack, they 



FORT SUMTER. 45 

must go down before gaunt linnger, already clutch- 
ing at their throats. But amid all these discour- 
agements, this handful of men stood firmly, bravely, 
defiantly, and grimly around the old flag, awaiting 
in ominous silence the onset of the rebel myrmi- 
dons. Only Jive guns could be manned by the force 
at the Major's disposal. But those five guns were 
manned. The numerical disproportion in the guns 
of the belligerents was great. But in the hands of 
such men as Anderson commanded, those five guns 
proved a mighty power. This the assailants felt to 
their chagrin and sorrow. For nearly forty hours 
they held the seventeen batteries at bay, and com- 
pelled the assailants to sue for the cessation of hos- 
tilities. 

At four o'clock, on the morning of the 12th of 
April, Beauregard opened his guns upon Fort Sum- 
ter. Fort Moultrie, as if to avenge its desertion by 
Major Anderson, inaugurated the great tragedy. 
Then was enacted one of the grandest scenes that 
ever transpired in E'orth America. The incessant 
roar of the great-throated artillery was like the 
seven apocalyptic " thunders uttering their voices." 
The hiss, shriek, and crash of the iron missiles, as 
they swept resistlessly through the air, were ter- 
rific. The earth about the combatants trembled and 
quivered as if in the throes of dissolution. The 
unclouded sky was draped with dark volumes of 
sulphurous smoke. At night the heavens were 
brilliantly lighted and beautified by the blazing 
shell and red-hot shot that sped through the air on 
their errand of death. The discharge of cannon was 



46 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

incessant. The moving, quaking earth, enveloped in 
the dense smoke of volcanic fires, illumined by the 
glare of lightning flashes, at the approach of the 
avenging Godhead, could not be much more awfully 
sublime and startling than the midnight scenes of 
the bombardment of Sumter. By no pen, however 
eloquent and skillful, can an adequate and complete 
idea of that event be imparted. To be fully appre- 
ciated it had to be seen. 

With unflagging energy the patriotic band under 
Anderson, with lofty scorn and haughty deflance, 
hurled back upon the rebel works the agents of de- 
struction. The iron hail from the well-served guns 
of Sumter went tearing, ripping, crashing, whizzing 
through the ponderous walls of Moultrie. Its walls 
were honey-combed. The debris of its shattered 
walls lay in unsightly heaps in and about the fort, 
while the wounded and dying covered the floors in 
every direction. Through every hour "the battle in- 
creased in magnitude and severity. It looked as if 
hell had broken loose from its dark caverns, and 
was scattering its molten fires over the shrinking 
earth. Dismay and confusion prevailed every-where 
hut in beleagured Sumter. A tranquillity distinctive 
of the peaceful review of troops characterized that 
patriotic band. 

The citizens of Charleston, proud and rebellious, 
were seized with the most distressing apprehensions, 
and filled with the wildest consternation. The bit- 
ter wail of agony rolled out from the sleepless city 
upon the deep gloom with which it w^as enveloped, 
as if it had been smitten with the bolt of Divine 



FORT SIBITER. 47 

vengeance. The house-tops were covered with eager, 
anxious, and weeping wives and mothers. Thou- 
sands of their loved ones were in the most immi- 
nent danger. Their lifeless and mangled bodies 
might be all that could be restored to them. The 
guns of Sumter, served by as true and loyal hearts 
as ever throbbed in the breast of man, were carry- 
ing anguish and desolation to some heart at every 
discharge. For Charleston it was pre-eminently a 
season of sorrow — all the worse for the uncertainty 
enshrouding the final results. But it was only " the 
beginning of sorrows" — the sad commencement of 
a most mournful end. Both the fault and the mis- 
fortune were their own. They would have it so. 
Nothing less than war would satisfy them. They 
loaded the first gun, and fired the first shot. Theirs 
were the first victims. 

The deafening roar of artillery still continued. 
The exhausted braves of Sumter still stood sternly 
to their guns. From the flag-stafi' a rebel shot car- 
ried away the American colors. They had hardly 
touched the ground, when the intrepid Mr. Hart, 
of ]^ew York city, a volunteer, amid the balls fly- 
ing thick and fast about him, ascended the flag- 
stafi:', with hatchet in hand, and nailed them to their 
place. This was a noble and heroic deed. He was 
not a soldier. Having accompanied the Major's wife 
from Xew York to Charleston, the rebel governor 
would not permit him to enter the fort unless he took 
an oath not to fight with the garrison while with it. 
Feeling that he could extensively aid the garrison 
when assailed in many ways besides that of fighting, 



48 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIO:!?. 

he reluctantly took tlie prescribed oath. E"oble man ! 
During the entire engagement he was laboriously 
employed in assisting the national troops. Besides 
gallantly keeping the flag aloft, he worked like a 
giant to extinguish the flames in the fort, kindled by 
the rebels' hot shot. He is worthy of the immor- 
tality secured to him by that brave and patriotic 
deed. The Jasper of the Southern rebellion, he 
will take his place with the many " Heroes of the 
War for the Union." 

The second day's fighting was in progress. The 
previous night was spent by Anderson and his men 
in rest and quietude, for the want of light in the 
casemates of Sumter. These noble fellows, without 
efiicient and powerful aid, without speedy reinforce- 
ments, could not, apparently, hold out much longer. 
They fought under the most trying circumstances 
and amid the most untoward and exhausting events. 
l!Tever did men maintain the contest with such over- 
whelming numbers so long, so ably, with such 
fierce persistence, and inflict so much injury upon 
the enemy, as did this artillery corps. The interior 
woodwork of the fort was rej)eatedly set on fire by 
the hot shot from the rebel guns. As frequently 
was the fire extinguished by a portion of the garri- 
son, with the intrepid Hart at its head, while the 
other portion fought on magnificently in the almost 
suftbcating smoke. At length, however, the flames 
got the mastery of these overwrought men. -The 
fire spread with great rapidity, and soon the whole 
interior of the fort was in a consuming blaze. All 
the woodwork was destroyed and the gates con- 



FOUT SUMTER. 49 

sumed. To keep from suffocating in the dense 
smoke and heated air, these brave men had to lie 
down with their faces upon the ground, their mouths 
covered with wet pieces of cloth. Still the old flag 
waved over the fort in its old beauty and pride. 
Still the garrison did not surrender. Still the rebels 
kept up the bombardment to the utmost stretch of 
their power. The smoke was suffocating; the heat 
of the burning timbers was almost blistering in in- 
tensity ; their rations were gone ; the fire had cut 
off all access to the magazine ; their cartridges were 
exhausted, and their guns, for the time being, were 
necessarily silent. But they were not conquered. 
In the intervals in which they could breathe, they 
took and manufactured their underclothing into 
cartridge-bags. , AYith these they occasionally re- 
sponded to the heavy firing of the rebels. They had 
sprung a naine under the fort, with which to blow 
it up, and go up with it, if the rebels should at- 
tempt an assault upon them. The inextinguishable 
fires of '76 burned upon their great souls, and sup- 
ported them in their great struggle. To strike their 
colors to traitors was a calamity to be deferred to 
the last hour by such brave hearts. In the estima- 
tion of the most fastidious they would have been 
justified in surrendering long before they were 
driven to those extremities. But they did not so 
think. A difierent spirit controlled that command 
to that which placed Harper's Ferrj^ into the rebels' 
hands without striking a solitary blow^ for victory. 
Major Anderson had not seriously thought of sur- 
rendering. He hoped to weather the storm of 
5 



50 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

flames from within, as well as the storm of iron hail 
from without. 

But the flames rose higher and spread wider, 
while the heat and smoke became more unendurable. 
Their ravages had extended to every combustible 
thing in the fort. The whole heavens were dark- 
ened by the great volumes of ascending smoke, 
while the defenders of the fort were panting for 
breath. The day was Avearing slowly but surely tcs 
a close. As the Federal guns gradually grew silent, 
the rebels augmented their fire to the highest point 
of severity. The Federal response became fainter 
and fainter. The garrison would fight awhile in the 
choking atmosphere of the fort, then lie down upon 
the ground to recruit their wasted energies. Yet no 
white flag^ the symbol of surrendei;, of truce, was 
raised. This undaunted persistence exasperated the 
baflled rebels. They had promised themselves an 
easy and bloodless victory. Being thus kept out of 
the coveted prize, they rained shell and shot more 
furiously than ever upon the burning fort. I^ot one 
of our men had fallen. Their spirits were unbroken, 
and they were as defiant as ever in their hostility. 

At this stage of the contest, Mr. Wigfall, a rene- 
gade Senator, from Texas, pulled across in a yawl 
from one of the rebel batteries to Sumter. He earn- 
estly begged Major Anderson to cease hostilities 
and agree to a capitulation. He entreated some one 
of Anderson's men to go upon the parapet and raise 
the white flag. With this request no one would 
comply. All were disinclined to surrender. Getting 
permission to do so, Wigfall ran up and raised the 



FORT SUMTER. 51 

white flag liimsclf. To tliis tlie rebels paid no at- 
tention, but piacle bim and bis wbite clotb a target. 
This exasperated the peacemaker, and, returning 
to the casemates, be cursed his associates for their 
stupidity. Thus from the rebels came the first and 
onlj4')roposal for the adjustment of the affair. They 
were weary of the strife, and heart-sick of the car- 
nage. They found the courage and persistence of 
the patriots -troublesome things. The 7^cheh asked for 
the contest to close. Consequently the firing ceased. 
This is glory enough for our bo3's. After the heroic 
defense they bad made, and ofters of accommodation 
coming from the rebels, they could afford to sur- 
I'ender the shell of a fort. 

Hostilities ceased at once. The great battle was 
over. The honor of the old flag was vindicated, and 
the conspirators taught a salutary lesson. Over all 
quiet reigned supreme. A Sabbath-like stillness 
succeeded to the terrific tempest that bad raged for 
nearly two consecutive days. On the 14th of April 
those intrepid warriors, with numbers and courage 
undiminished, marched out of the fort with " ban- 
ners flying, the drums beating, and with all the 
honors of war." The last act of these brave men, 
ere they left the scenes of their sufferings and glory, 
was to salute the Stars and Stripes with fifty guns. 
Soon all were on their way to join their loved ones, 
and receive the cons^ratulations of their loval fellow- 
citizens. Having reached Kew York, Major An- 
derson and command were received in the most 
agreeable and distinguished manner. ITever were 
gallant soldiers greeted with more cordiality and 



52 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOJJT. 

greater demonstrations of joy. ^N'ever to deserving 
men was a heartier welcome extended. Our coun- 
try's outraged honor, with the courage and loyalty 
of her soldiers, had been effectually vindicated. For 
this they were accorded a nation's welcome and a 
nation's praise. 

But how fared the proud and confident rebels, 
with the advantage of numbers and artillery all on 
their side ? Did they feel that their barren victory 
compensated them for their prodigious outlay of 
time, money, and life? Did their thousands come 
oif unscathed ? Did none of their officers and men 
fall during the engagement ? They asserted that not 
a man was lost. Can this be so in the nature of 
things? We think not. That we lost none in 
Sumter is easily accounted for. All the men were 
in bomb-proof casemates. These afforded perfect 
security from secession missiles. Besides this, they 
were few in numbers, and, consequently, more likely 
to escape. But the rebels had no such protection in 
Moultrie and the most of their forts and batteries. 
They were compactly massed in open fortifications. 
These men, thus crowded together, were wholly ex- 
posed to the bursting shell of Sumter. The idea that 
none of the rebels fell in that terrific artillery duel is 
preposterous. That great numbers fell upon those 
two awful days of iron sleet has been established as 
a fact beyond successful refutation. But how many 
were lost will, perhaps, never be knpwn to us. 

In harmony with their nefarious work, the seces- 
sionists inaugurated, at this time, the system of pub- 
lishing false, unreliable bulletins of their battles. To 



FORT SUMTER. 53 

tliis vile and dishonorable system they have faith- 
fully adhered. The}" have not, so far as is known, 
at any time, of any battle, siege, or skirmish, for the 
three past years of the war, published a correct list 
of their killed, wounded, and missing. To deceive 
the people and soothe their wounded pride, they 
have generally made their losses exceedingly small. 
Accordingly, at the attack upon Sumter the}^ lost 
none. ^' iTobody was hurt." To confess the loss of 
any at the hands of so small a body of Federal 
soldiers, and especially as we lost none, was too hu- 
miliating, too galling to their foolish pride, to be 
tolerated for a moment. Their guilt and cowardice 
led. them to dread the eftects of an .announcement of 
the truth upon the adherents of their wicked cause. 
So wretchedly defective was their cause that they 
dared not intrust it to truth, nor let the sad facts of 
a battle be known. Throughout those years of car- 
nage and agony, they persisted in asserting, in the 
coolest and most insolent manner, that *' nobody 
was hurt" in the bombardment of Sumter. But 
the bereaved wives and stricken children of Charles- 
ton can not believe in the harmless character of 
Sumter's fire. Many wdio went out to that engage- 
ment, long and anxiously looked for by loving 
hearts, never, never returned. They sleep where they 
fell, and are the first victims of treason. 

In the capture of Sumter the Union cause has 
been vastly the gainer, while the Southern cause 
was equally the loser. Until this catastrophe oc- 
curred, we entertained but little or no hope for our 
country. It was feared that there was not patriotism 



64 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE IJXION. 

enough in the land to confront treason with a bold, 
determined, and unwavering front. Through this 
apparent want of patriotism the conspirators hoped 
to succeed. There were reasons for fearing that the 
people would hold so tenaciously to party lines and 
party traditions as to be hopelessl}^ divided. In- 
deed, up to the capture of Sumter the future wore 
the most dismal aspects. The Federal Government, 
led on by a dreaming, visionary member of the cabi- 
net, intent upon bringiug back the South by magna- 
nimity, was once disposed to quietly evacuate Sum- 
ter, and withdraw her troops from South Carolina. 
But the stern opposition of the loyal press, and the 
fierce howl of indignation that came up from the 
loyal masses, made the magnanimous government 
hesitate, and formed the first hopeful symptom of 
the future. Something was still wanting to call out 
and give direction to the thoughts and actions of 
the people. The capture of Sumter, the trailing of 
the national flag in the dust, fully aroused the people 
from their torpor, and completely broke the Lethean 
spell with which party politics had bound them. 
The people were Americans again. The masses 
were electrified and wholly awakened to a sense of 
their duty and danger. The attack upon and cap- 
ture of Sumter saved us for the time being. These 
alarming and treasonable events made the people of 
the free States a unit in their purpose of attacking 
and crushing the armed rebellion. It produced the 
grandest spectacle ever beheld in the world. A 
whole people arose en masse, as if evoked from the 
earth by magic, for the vindication of their insulted 



FORT SUMTER. 55 

flag, and the defense of tlieir threatened liberties. 
In the course of a day an army of patriots sprung 
into being, and surrounded the menaced Capital 
with its serried ranks. ^' Suddenly armed men 
spring from the earth, like the dragon's teeth of 
Cadmus, a shout of defiance rends the air, and the 
new-born rush on to the work " of saving the Union 
from the destroying clutch of its rapacious enemies. 
A nation in arms ! This was the result of the cap- 
ture of Sumter. JSTo thing else could have brought 
about so desirable a state of things. A whole peo- 
ple doffing the attire and laying aside the occupa- 
tion of civilians, and donning the garb and taking 
np the vocation of soldiers, was, indeed, a rare and 
sublime scene ! The overconfident South looked 
on, confounded and appalled. With alarm they be- 
held the fearful consequences of the hostile step that 
they had taken. The capture of Sumter gave them 
Virginia; but it also brought upon them an army 
of six hundred thousand patriots. Instead of dis- 
tracting and dividing the North, as they had hoped, 
and of which they had been assured by I^orthern 
traitors, it aroused and united the I^orth. Ko less 
an event than the attack upon Sumter would have 
been sufficient to prepare the people to vindicate 
their rights and severely punish treason. Had Mr. 
Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand soldiers a 
week previous to that event, he would not only not 
have got the men, but would have raised about his 
head a storm, the fierceness of which Avould have 
appalled him. But the insolence and open treason 
of the South removed every difficulty, and placed 



56 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

immediately in liis hands more troops tlian he could 
then employ. 

Then, from the services of Major Anderson we 
have, as a nation, derived incalculable advantages. 
Upon those advantages we can not place too high 
an estimate. His evacuation of Moultrie, and occu- 
pation and defense of Sumter, are the two grand 
events that, in the providence of God, inaugurated 
our safety, and gave an assurance of future and final 
security. 

Arriving at one of the Eastern cities. Major An- 
derson — he whom the people delight to honor — sent 
to Mr. Cameron, the Secretary of War, the follow- 
ing official report : 

" Stea^iship Baltic, off Sandy Hook, ^ 
April 18, 1861. j 

*' Hon. S. Cameron, Secretaey of War : 

" Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty -four hours, until the 
quarters were entirely burned, the main gates destroyed by fire, 
the gorge wall seriously injured, the magazine surrounded by 
flames, and its doors closed from the effects of heat, four barrels 
and three cartridges of powder only being available, and no pro- 
visions but pork remaining, I accepted terms of evacuation offered 
by General Beauregard, being the same offered by him on the 
11th inst, prior to the commencement of hostilities, and march- 
ing out of the fort, on Sunday afternoon, the 14th inst., with 
colors flying, drums beating, bringing away company and pri- 
vate property, and saluting the flag with fifty guns. 

" Robert Andeeson." 

Thus closed the first engagement of this atrocious 
and causeless rehellion. The results were as honor- 
able to us as they were disastrous to the insurgents. 



FORT SUMTER. 57 

The minds of tlie people were terribly agitated. The 
profoundest regrets for the necessity of going to war 
with their own brethren filled the hearts of the loyal 
portion of the Union. They could hardly persuade 
themselves that the South was wicked enough to 
make war upon the government. But, nevertheless, 
they were fully determined to expend every thing, 
if need be, in defense of the Union and Constitu- 
tion. iN'ever had such deep gloom settled upon a 
nation as that which then enveloped the loyal 
masses. They had been so long accustomed to pro- 
found peace that the idea of civil war was extremely 
terrifying. They were not cowards ; but the con- 
templation of the desolating effects of such a war 
filled them with horror. They knew that a war 
between the is'orth and South w^ould be of the most 
sanguinary character. But as they had had no 
agency in bringing about the dire necessity of fight- 
ing, they determined to stand by the institutions of 
their fathers, and adjust their feelings and habits to 
the condition of things about them. As they were 
compelled to either tamely surrender their inestima- 
ble liberties, or endure all the horrors of civil war, 
they deliberately chose the latter. This was both 
right and noble. With solemn majesty they laid their 
all upon the altar of their beloved country. Living 
or dying, they were ready for the defense of the 
liberties transmitted to them by their illustrious an- 
cestors. JTothing less than their unimpaired pres- 
ervation would satisfy them. The idea of leaving 
their descendants in vassalage to an upstart aristoc- 



58 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

racy was more torturing than tlie idea of losing all 
by war. Katlier than that their children should be 
less free than themselves, they preferred seeing their 
country laid in ashes, and themselves buried beneath 
them. Such was the stern and lofty patriotism 
of 'Gl. 



ANDERSON. 59 



CHAPTEE II. 

ANDERSON. 

FIRST in the fierce and terrible struggle for na- 
tional existence, Major Anderson, like the Fa- 
ther of his Country, is the first in the hearts of the 
]3eople. Standing deservedly high as an oflicer and 
as a man, upon him the highest estimate is justly 
placed. Under the most trying circumstances, he 
has signally proved his reliability in an hour of 
national peril, and demonstrated the superior order 
of his abilities. He grandly stood erect where others 
ignobly stooped, and gloriously succeeded where 
success, at best, seemed very problematical. Hence 
his memory deserves to be embalmed in the fond 
recollection of the people — the American people. 
History, if solicitous to compass its legitimate ends, 
could not be better employed than m transmitting 
to posterity a lifelike portrait of this great and 
good man. Then, to take a solitary step in this 
direction is the exclusive purpose of this paper. 

Major Kobert Anderson is a native of Kentucky, 
a state greatly distinguished for her patriotic states- 
men, great orators, and brave soldiers. After spend- 
ing his early youth in appropriate and useful 
employments at home, he Avas admitted into West 
Point as a cadet in 1821. He entered those classic 



60 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNI02T. 

halls witli tlie praiseworthy determination to appro- 
priate to himself all the intellectual advantages that 
the j could aitbrd. Consequently while in the Acad- 
demy he was no lounger, but was distinguished for 
his studious and regular habits. E"o portion of his 
time, nor any of his opportunities to acquire useful 
knowledge, were idly whiled away. In the fullest 
sense — in the best sense — he was a student, a model 
student. To his superiors he always paid the great- 
est deference. To no one was he ever discourteous 
in word or deed. 

Having passed through the usual course of study, 
he graduated in 1825 with distinguished honors, 
and was at once made Brevet Second Lieutenant of 
the Second Regiment of the United States Artillery. 
Within the same year he was transferred to the 
Third Regiment of the same arm of the military serv- 
ice. In this regiment of artillery he foithfully 
served the government until 1832. At this time he 
was appointed acting Inspector-General of Illinois 
volunteers. In this capacity he acted till the close 
of the Black Hawk war. He then resumed his 
station and duties in the Third Artillery. In this 
regiment he was promoted to the rank of First 
Lieutenant in 1833. As First Lieutenant he acted 
up to 1835, when he was appointed Assistant In- 
structor of Artillery in the Military Academy of 
"West Point. This was a laborious, responsible, and 
important station. l^othing more distinctly or 
clearly indicates the superior attainments and great 
abilities of this young soldier than this and kindred 
appointments. For the efficient discharge of the 



ANDEHSON. 



61 



duties of tliis office he was most amply qualified. 
Had he not been fully fitted in every essential re- 
spect for such a station, his scrupulous integrity 
would not have permitted him to occupy it. In 
this subordinate capacity he served until December 
of the same year, when he was promoted to the 
rank of full Instructor. While occupying this re- 
sponsible station he rendered general satisfaction, 
and acquitted himself with the highest honors. 

In jSTovember of 1837 he was appointed Aid-de- 
camp to General Scott. His appointment upon the 
staft' of such an officer was no meager compli- 
ment to his character and abilities. Neither was 
it undeserved. With the greatest credit he served 
as one of General Scott's aids until 1838, when he 
was brevetted Captain " for gallant and merito- 
rious conduct." In his military career he con- 
tinued, without the least interruption, onward and 
upward, struggling with difficulties of sufficient 
magnitude to have crushed less resolute souls, per- 
forming the most gallant deeds, filling responsible 
posts with great fidelity and efficiency, and sharing 
in the approval and rewards of his superiors up to 
1843. His entire course had been one of indefati- 
gable industry and distinguished honor. But one 
purpose impelled him along life's rugged highway. 
He aimed to be a good and efficient soldier. He 
earnestly sought to serve his country to the fullest 
extent of his abilities. He was not content to simply 
put in his time and draw his wages. He aspired to 
so act, to so conscientiously conduct himself, that 
when age and infirmities necessitated his retirement 



62 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

from active duties, lie could look back over the past 
with pleasure and self- approval. Of this noble pur- 
pose he never lost sight amid all the changes and 
vicissitudes to which he was subjected. If any 
public man has ever succeeded in so noble and 
praiseworthy a purpose, he certainly has. 

In 1843 he 2-)ublished his " Transatlantic French 
System of Artillery Tactics." This was not simply 
a translation, as the title would seem to indicate, 
but vastly more. The changes, modifications, and 
additions to which he subjected the old French sys- 
tem made his nearly a new and an original woi^k. 
It was wholly Americanized. Of this popular and 
valuable work he is the exclusive author. AYith no 
one has he to divide the honors of so excellent and 
timely a production. Had he done nothing else, his 
*^ System of Artillery Tactics " was sufficient to se- 
cure him immortality. 

With the most commendable zeal, conspicuous 
ability, and tireless persistence, he labored to impart 
a practical knowledge of this system of artillery 
tactics to the officers and men of the United States 
Army. In this he had the most complete success. 
The superiority of his system to all others was so 
conspicuous that it soon became the national text- 
book on artillery. To him, more than to any one 
else, are we indebted for the skill and efficiency of 
our artillery. Thus we are reaping the rich fruits 
of his patient toil when in the full vigor of manhood. 

At the beginning of the Mexican war he was act- 
ing Major of his battalion. To no trustier officer 
could the command have been given. This he dem- 



ANDERSOK". 63 



•> 



onstratcd to the satisfaction of botli friends and 
enemies. In the Mexican war, as in all others in 
which he took any part, he showed himself the 
educated gentleman, and proved himself the intrepid 
soldier. Victory attended his footsteps wherever he 
went, and triumph accompanied him against what- 
ever foe he led his forces. At the hotly contested 
battle of Molino del Eey he fought most heroically, 
repulsing the enemy on every hand. "While gal- 
lantly leading on his men, he received a severe and 
dangerous wound. For the time being he was laid 
upon his back. Thus, when speeding onward 
through the highest tide of success, he was rudely 
arrested by the calamities of war. He did not 
murmur. His wound was of the most honorable 
character. He had attracted the gaze and secured 
the approbation of the people. This fully compen- 
sated him for his sufterings. His chivalrous and 
deserving conduct on the sanguinary field of Molino 
del Key was not overlooked by those who had both 
the power and the will to reward him. Consequently 
he was bre vetted Major soon afterward. Of such 
an honor no one was more deserving. 

Recovering from the efiects of his serious wound, 
lie re-entered and continued in the active service of 
the United States, till he reappears a prominent actor 
in scenes transpiring about Charleston, South Caro- 
lina. For thirty-seven years he had labored for his 
country. He was yet in the prime of his vigor. He 
was yet competent for the most active duties. At 
the bursting out of the secession epidemic he held 
the command of Major of the First United States 



64 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Artillery, Modestj brave, and unaspiriDg, lie passed 
tb rough a long, laborious, and beneficial service 
without attracting much attention, until the war 
with Mexico. As he was quiet and unostentatious, 
his method of doing a thing was not likely to create 
much stir or excitement, except in his immediate 
vicinity. From principle, more than from nature, 
he was decidedly undemonstrative. He felt an in- 
superable repugnance to the usual methods of se- 
curing distinction. Alone, or principally in the 
approval of his conscience, he sought comfort and sup- 
port. For the people and their well-being he ever felt 
the greatest concern, but for the changeful and unre- 
liable sycophant he felt the most supreme loathing. 
His patriotism was pure, elevated, cultured, and 
disinterested, ^o sordid element entered into its 
constituency. He was not an officer for the sake 
of wealth and honor, but to aid in supporting the 
honor and perpetuity of his beloved country. Many 
in the same profession, no more deserving than him- 
self, and after a shorter period of public service, 
have been promoted to commands over and above 
him. As Major Anderson was wholly intent upon 
doing his whole duty wherever his country placed 
him, he had neither time nor inclination to make 
direct attempts to obtain a more lucrative and hon- 
orable position. He was ever more solicitous to 
meet the confidence reposed in him by his govern- 
ment, and contribute to the stability of his country, 
than to secure oflacial advancement. He loved his 
country for its own sake, and he served it because 
he so loved it. In this important respect, he com- 



ANDERSON. 65 

pares most favorably with many others, but espe- 
cially with the archtraitor Beauregard, with whom 
he measured swords at old Sumter. 

His m.ental powers were more solid than showy — ■ 
more efficient than brilliant. His was a giant but 
sedate mind. This and more was fully developed 
in his masterly defense of Fort Sumter. In execu- 
tive efforts his abilities proved themselves to be of 
the first magnitude — of the highest grade. General 
Scott, not very apt to bestow praise where it was not 
deserved, and slow to do so even when honestly 
earned, declared that " Major Anderson's protracted 
defense of Sumter was the most masterly affair in 
the history of the world." This is no feeble eulogy, 
nor faint praise. It covers the whole field of past 
and present achievements, and places the hero of 
Sumter on the summit. The defense of Sumter, 
in its elements of greatness and in its indications 
of the highest order of generalship, has no parallel 
in the annals of the wonderful and stirring past. 
It was a giant's power that held the savage hordes 
of rebels at bay for thirty-four hours. He was the 
American Leonidas disputing, with startling energy 
and consummate ability, the narrow pass leading 
from Southern despotism to American freedom. 
"With remarkable self-possession, and with a force 
that sent the insolent foe reeling back, he threw 
himself, like a second Brutus, between the assailing 
enemy and out* assailed inheritance. His peculiar 
situation required of him a lofty and sustained effort. 
That efibrt was put forth with a vehemence that 
told terribly upon the insurgents. 
6 



66 THE HEROES OE THE WAR EOR THE UNION. 

"His name belongs now to history; the rebellion has devel- 
oped at least one hero. We do not believe that circumstancea 
make men; they rather test and reveal their qualifications; they 
afford opportunities under which the weak and mean sink op- 
pressed, and the cunning and unprincipled are enticed into 
treachery, while the good, the true, and the strong, masters of 
the situation, hew the rugged circumstances into shapes of honor 
and advantage. 

" Poor, superannuated Twiggs, and others, whose treason will 
be forgotten under the fouler shadow of his, have perished by 
their circumstances, while Major Anderson, seemingly without 
an effort, in circumstances greatly similar, has secured the very 
heart of the nation, the tearful gratitude of the loyal, and the 
admiration of rebels. Circumstances did not make Twiggs a 
traitor ; they only furnished an occasion for the development of 
treason already existing. Circumstances did not make Anderson 
a liero; they only lent the light in which his heroism was bodied 
forth, the atmosphere in which it was ventilated before the eyes 
of his countrymen. Without the life and breath of the circum- 
stances, the flower of heroism might have 'blushed unseen,' and 
its ' sweetness, wasted on the desert air,' might not have rapt the 
grateful heart of the great republic, but in his inmost soul the 
meek and gentle Major would still have been a hero. 

"Major Anderson came into view at a moment of intense 
national interest. We say moment^ for the time in which Floyd 
and his comrades in crime were plotting treason and consum- 
mating robbery was pregnant, in every instant of it, with the fate 
of the nation. The cabinet, for the most part, was supine or 
false, the President asleep or doting, Congress disintegrating, the 
rebellion rapidly taking shape, and defiantly girding itself to 
resist or overthrow the government. The whole country held 
its breath, and waited, in agonized, silent suspense, for the man 
of destiny, the minister of Providence, to speak the word or dare 
the deed that would wake it up to the consciousness of its 
power, and give bold utterance to its struggling, halfformed 
thoughts. And this Major Anderson did.""^ 

*"The Methodist," of New York. 



ANDERSON. 67 

Than Major Anderson no military leader or public 
official has a clearer, fairer record— a record of which 
any nation, as well as any individual, might well be 
proud. From no ordinary soil, from no defective 
source, could those heroic fruits have emanated. 
Their fountain-head must have been of the most 
exalted character. In no single instance was he 
ever guilty of a departure from tlie right and truth, 
from what was honorable and manly. In his w^hole 
career as a public servant, there can not be found 
any impropriety of action. Every thing seems to 
have been done by him at the most befitting season 
and in the most befitting manner. He made no er- 
ratic or conjectural movements upon the chess-board 
of military enterprise. Between the peculiar and 
trying condition of things surrounding him and his 
actions amid those conditions, there subsisted perfect 
harmony. His well-disciplined mind and masculine 
judgment prevented him from falling into any seri- 
ous error. Indeed, his judgment appeared almost 
infallible in its appropriate sphere of activities. He 
verged neither to the effeminate extreme of timid- 
ity nor to that of hazardous rashness. He always 
occupied or pursued a secure medium. His patient 
delays were fruitful of the most salutary results, and 
his energetic activity left nothing to modify or im- 
prove. He gallantly wuthheld his hand at the right 
time, and struck quick, heavy, staggering blows at 
the most appropriate period. From his sleepless 
vi2:ilance the most dexetrous foe could not beo'uile 
him. The most persistent and s^^stematic efforts 
failed to entice him into a less cautious manage- 



68 THE HEROES OF THE ^YAli FOR THE UNION. 

nient of Lis afi'airs. The rebels labored long and 
arduously, but in vain, to press bini into a mode of 
conduct that would fix upon him and his govern- 
ment the guilt and stigma of inaugurating hos- 
tilities. When rebel exasperations goaded his 
subordinates into thinking that forbearance with 
their arrogance and treason ceased to be a Yirtu^e, 
his authoritatively but modestly uttered '' icaii " 
quieted every movement of impatience^ and hushed 
into enduring acquiescence every restive feeling. 
Thus majestically he moved on amid his duties and 
trials — trials such as but few have ever experienced. 
That which Frederick the Great once said to one of 
his officers, we may say to Anderson, " Major, you 
are a General ! " 

Major Anderson is as excellent at heart as he is 
superior in head. The soldier has not superseded 
the father, the man, the citizen, nor the Christian. 
Upon all occasions he boldly professed his deep at- 
tachment to Christianity, and always demonstrated 
the validity of his discipleship by the rectitude and 
integrity of his whole life. He was the Havelock 
of the American army. His entire career has proved 
that the strictest soldier life is perfectly compatible 
with the strictest Christian life. His uniform con- 
duct has taken from the soldier his excuse for living 
a life of irreligion. His religious life has silenced 
the military skeptic, should mantle the military 
reveler's cheek with the blush of shame, and proves 
conclusively the unjustifiableness of the gross im- 
piety characteristic of the army of the United States. 
Indeed, Major Anderson has proved that a man is 



ANDEKSON. 69 

the better soldier, and vastly more worthy of confi- 
dence, for being a real Christian. Would General 
Fitz-John Porter have so heartily co-operated with 
the slaveholder at the beginning of the war, and, at 
a subsequent period, so recklessly disobeyed the 
orders of his superior, and endangered the very ex- 
istence of the army, to glut an unreasonable and 
unmanly malice, had he been a scrupulously con- 
scientious Christian ? We are fully persuaded that 
he would not have so acted. He carelessly took the 
fearful responsibility of entailing untold calamities 
upon thousands to gratify his dislike of the com- 
manding officer. His mad jealousy transformed him 
into a moral monster, and while under its dominion 
he committed monstrous deeds. The Christian re- 
ligion would have prevented such a sad act and its 
mournful consequences. Major Anderson's pure and 
evangelical piety would have prevented him from 
committing so terrible a deed. His deep, uniform 
relisrion is the secret of the unbounded confidence 
placed in him by the people. They felt that a foe 
to God is no true friend to man, and, also, that the 
reverse of this is true. When he fell upon his 
knees at the base of the flag-staff in Sumter, de- 
voutly, with tearful eye and broken voice, offering 
thanksgiving to Deity for the safe arrival of his 
command at its destination, and earnestly asking His 
benedictions upon his future operations, his men 
must have felt the fullest confidence in his discretion 
and courage. So it is with all officers and men. 

In the conviction that the pious and God-fearing 
are identified with any laudable enterprise, there is 



70 THE nEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

great, tranqiiiliziiig, and reassuring power. This 
power is felt by the worst, as well as by the best, 
of men. Every-where, and amid all scenes of manly 
effort or human disaster and suffering, this silent 
witness of the potency of evangelical piety is seen, 
felt, and acknowledged. ^' We are wicked and do n't 
pray ourselves," said a veteran of the Army of the 
Cumberland; "but our General prays, therefore we 
believe God is with us, and will help us." It was 
Cromwell's fervent piety and great faith that in- 
duced his troops to regard him invincible, and to 
follow him with the fullest confidence of success. 
In spite of the denunciations of his enemies, Crom- 
well's piety was the magnet that carried his '' iron- 
sides " into every place that the interest of his cause 
rendered it necessary to enter. He was the cham- 
pion of downtrodden and bleeding humanity. The 
Lord was with him and his praying troops; conse- 
quently, while they realized the supporting pres- 
ence of Deity by a faith that glowed with the fire of 
enthusiasm, no serious calamity could befall them. 
It was this that made the troops of the Parlia- 
ment an avalanche with which the royal army was 
crushed. 

Nothing did more to secure to Commodore Foote 
the confidence of his men and his triumphs, than his 
real, living, deep, and uniform piety. His legions 
were fully persuaded that he was all that he pro- 
fessed to be, and more. Hence, they cheerfully 
consigned themselves to his custody and control, 
and became as pliant in his hands as the tender 
twig of the plant. 



ANDEHSON. 71 

Had not Major Anderson been one of the most 
devout men, as well as one of the most skillful 
officers, he could hardly have held his command so 
firmly together, nor hurled it with such destructive 
force upon the* overconfident foe. 

Then we conclude that the highest adorning, the 
brightest ornament of Major Anderson's character is 
his deep, fervent, and uniform piety — his living faith 
in God. This divine principle shone in his heart, a 
mighty motive in his life, " the source of all his 
morals and the inspiration of all his charity, the 
sanctifier of every relationship, and the sweetener of 
every toil," augmented and imparted character to 
his soldierly and social qualities. From this decision 
many of his fellow-officers may wholly dissent. But 
their dissent will not make it the less true. The 
military chivalry of Charleston ridiculed his relig- 
ion, and laughed to scorn his confidence in a benefi- 
cent Providence. But their haughty sneers had no 
effect on him, nor did their scofts neutralize the 
charms with which his piety invested his character 
in the estimation of the millions of Christian pa- 
triots. Evangelical piety is so rare in the officers of 
our army, that, when found to exist in any one, it is 
the more to be prized, and appears to greater ad- 
vantasre. Indeed, to be relisrious amid the almost 
universal irreligion of one's associates, as Avas the 
case with Major Anderson, argues the presence and 
possession of more than ordinary strength of mind, 
conscientiousness, and fortitude. Any person can 
be religious, in form at least, when to be so is to 
float with the popular current. But to be truly and 



72 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

deeply religious under tlie peculiar class of circum- 
stances surrounding Major Anderson requires no or- 
dinary effort and no ordinary powers. The task was 
great, but he accomplished it. Like the Pharos of 
ancient Egypt, his piety stood out prominently and 
brilliantly, exerting a salutary and an elevating influ- 
ence upon all who came within the wide circle of his 
movements. As his sincerity has been assailed, and 
the purity of his motives impugned, we repeat that 
there is every reason for believing that his piety was 
both deep and genuine. His fervent trust in God 
was part and parcel of his very existence. Like 
Abraham of patriarchal times, he never staggered in 
his faith at any of the providences of Deity, how- 
ever obscure or mysterious, and shrank not from 
any burden laid on him by his allegiance to Christ, 
however weighty or unpleasant. His religion did 
not expend itself in the punctilious observance of 
empty ceremonies, but it extended throughout his 
entire being, and modified all his passions and ap- 
petites. It molded him into a most genial, urbane, 
and compassionate man. It imparted to his spirit a 
winning gentleness, and chastened down his ambi- 
tion to a most judicious extent. It stripped him of 
all that might repel, while it left him in possession 
of a courage and probity, such as distinguished and 
sustained the early martyrs of the Church. He was 
a rare, good man — a great soldier. 

Ec[ually conspicuous was his inodesty. "With dread 
he shrank from public observation, while the con- 
gratulations and applause of a grateful people 
seemed to inflict upon him more pain than they 



ANDERSON. 73 

gave him pleasure. This was not aftectation. lie 
abhorred pretenses of every kind. As frank as he 
was brave, he eoukl not conceal the fact that the 
great applause of the people annoyed and afflicted 
him. He felt that he did not deserve such public 
honors. He felt that he had simply done his duty, 
nothing more, and consequently merited nothing 
but the approbation of his conscience. 

In this excellent respect he differed widely from 
most public men. AVere it not for the glory and 
historic fame that attend brilliant achievements, but 
few would hazard so much as is risked upon the 
battle-field. But pure patriotism and a profound 
sense of duty led Major Anderson to hazard every 
thing when his country's life was endangered and 
assailed. Since the days of the immortal Washing- 
ton, we. have not seen Anderson's superior in all 
excellent respects. Jackson was brave, prompt, and 
irresistible in the attack of an enemy ; Taylor was 
cautious, shrewd, heroic, and successful ; Scott tow- 
ered head and shoulders above his cotemporaries in 
mental and martial abilities — grand in his onset, de- 
voted to his whole country, and the embodiment of 
honor itself; but Major Anderson added to these 
excellencies of the chieftain the rare excellencies of 
the modest Christian. What McLean was as a Judge 
of the Supreme Court of the United States, Major 
Anderson was as a military officer. To find in him 
a man there was no necessity of using the lantern 
of Socrates. 

The instinct or intuition of the people is never at 
fault when permitted to arrive at its own conclu- 
7 



74 THE HEROES OF THE WAK FOR THE UNION. 

sions. These instincts and intuitions led them to 
believe that Major Anderson was a great and good 
man. To the control of these convictions they 
surrendered themselves without the least reserve. 
They have had no cause for reversing their decision, 
nor reason to regret their course. In no suhsequent 
act has Major Anderson shown himself unworthy 
of the applause offered and the trust reposed in 
him. His promotion to the rank of Brigadier-Gen- 
eral was hailed with delight by the whole loyal 
populace. This appointment was an earnest of the 
future, and an assurance that the hero of Sumter 
would still be in the field battling with treason. 
Had his physical abilities been equal to his other 
qualifications for this high station, to-day he would 
be the man of the people, the sustaining center of 
the distracted country, around whom they would 
have enthusiastically rallied. But the prolonged 
anxieties, excessive toils, and great sufferings that 
he underwent and experienced while in Sumter left 
him bw.t a wreck. His health was gone ; his con- 
stitution, hitherto excellent, was forever broken, 
and he was necessitated to retire from active du- 
ties. This necessary retirement filled the loyal peo- 
ple with universal regret and sorrow. They knew 
him ; they could trust him. They felt that the 
country was deprived of the services of one of its 
best generals and truest subjects. In the van of 
struggling freemen he had stood for many weary 
months, the physical result of which was ruined 
health. Though compelled to retire to the quietude 
of home, he is not forgotten. He lives in the 



ANDEESON. 75 

hearts and shares in the sympathy of the people, 
as no other livino- man. His name will live in and 
adorn the pages of history heside those of Wash- 
ington, Lafayette, Marion, Bolivar of South Amer- 
ica, and Paoli of Corsica. 



76 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOX. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 

HE results of associated effort are the indices to 
the character and capabilities of the individuals 
constituting that association. This is so, whether 
the results are noble or ignoble, elevating or degrad- 
ing, praiseworthy or censurable. Of the many 
thousands composing the Revolutionary Araiy we 
know but little; yet there is no doubt that they 
were men of the truest patriotism and soldiers of the 
highest order, and that each one did his duty earn- 
estly and efficiently, whether an officer or a private. 
Our free institutions are the invaluable results of 
their patriotic daring and doing. On our liberties, 
the monument of their activity and suffering, are 
inscribed the excellent qualities of their characters, 
and the grandeur of their conduct. That they were 
men of the purest type and highest style is legibly 
written upon the sum total of the results of their 
blended efforts. 

Apx)lying this principle to the officers under, and 
associated with. Major Anderson at Fort Sumter, no 
difficulty will be encountered in determining their 
individual characters, or in ascertaining their capa- 
bilities. It can be easily discovered whether they 
were cowards or heroes, patriots or traitors. The 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 77 

defense of Sumter was not a defense that ordinary 
men or poltroons would have conducted. But few 
in numhers, the defense of Sumter required every 
one to be a champion of no ordinary proportions or 
abilities. Such champions they proved themselves 
on that great occasion. This, then, clearly entitles 
them to a conspicuous place on the historic page and 
a larg^e share in our affectionate remembrance. 

The defense of Sumter was masterly, even won- 
derful, displaying the noblest elements of character 
and the best qualities of head and heart. In all that 
is great, grand, and ennobling, it ranks with the de- 
fense of Thermopylae by the Spartan band led on by 
the unconquerable Leonidas. A handful of men, but 
every one a host within himself, stood up undaunt- 
edly against a large, fanatical, and sanguinary army. 
So bravely, so persistently, did this small garrison 
fight its formidable foe, when every thing but its 
courage was against it, that it excited the admiration 
of universal man. 

That the deeds and endurance of these officers de- 
serve such a position as that which this paper would 
assign them, no true and loyal man, at all acquainted 
with the facts distinctive of that event, will ques- 
tion. Their patient endurance of close confinement 
to the narrow limits of an isolated fort, month after 
month, putting up with the coarsest and scantiest 
fare, bearing the insolence and audacity of the reb- 
els while girdling them with powerful batteries for 
their ultimate destruction, and the enduring of other 
annoyances, entitle them to rank first and highest 
among the great, the true, and the heroic that have 



78 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMOK"/ 

distinguished tliemselves in tlic American wars. 
They deserve to stand with the dauntless Brownlow, 
the true and inflexible Johnson, and the faithful Car- 
ter. They deserve the highest commendations for 
their unyielding fidelity amid general defection and 
the strongest temptations, and for their manly efforts 
to defend the flag that so many were betraying. 

Such are human nature and human infirmities, 
that, to some extent, the public recognition and ap- 
preciation of success and manly action are essential 
to the cheerful continuance in well-doing. The best 
and most disinterested patriots are the stronger and 
more energetic for knowing that their efforts are 
appreciated, and that the public is disposed to award 
them. their just and faithfully earned dues. 

Then, in conformity with what is conceived to be 
legitimately due to these brave men, a brief but ac- 
curate pen-portrait is given of the life, character, and 
deeds of the ofiicers of the immortalized Sumter. 

CAPTAIN DOUBLEDAY. 

Captain Abna Doubleday is a native of ITew 
York. A graduate of West Point Military Acad- 
emy, he was early and thoroughly trained in mili- 
tary tactics as a profession. Standing high in his 
graduating class, he proved himself the inheritor of 
more than ordinary abilities. 

Captain Doubleday is the fortunate possessor of a 
superb person. His form is symmetrical. His face is 
full, round, and flushed with vigorous health. His 
■forehead is prominent, deep, and broad, and of a de- 
cidedly intellectual cast. His eyebrows are massive 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 79 

and projecting, from beneath wliicli tliere peers out 
two bright and sparkling eyes. His nose is of the 
Roman type, with large and expanding nostrils. His 
lips, though full, are so compressed together when 
his countenance is in repose, as to immediately sug- 
gest the idea of the firmest resolution — a most inflex- 
ible will. His chin is slightly projecting, tolerably 
square, but handsome. His jaws are wide and heavy, 
an index to his great powers of endurance. Alto- 
gether his is a striking and an attractive face. His 
appearance is more than that of an ordinary man. 
That he is more than an ordinary man his whole ca- 
reer, up to the great period of which we are wanting, 
affords the most conclusive proof. He is one among 
a thousand. 

By his fine abilities and the thorough discipline to 
which they had been subjected, he was prepared to 
fill his post with the greatest credit to himself and 
advantage to the government he served. He entered 
the army of the United States about nineteen years 
prior to the secession of the haughty South. At the 
beginning of our national troubles he was acting as 
senior Captain of the First United States Artillery, 
stationed at Fort Sumter, l^o position of that grade 
was more honorable or responsible at that critical 
period. His previous manly and soldier-like conduct 
is clearly inferable from the great trust reposed in 
him at this momentous season. As the United States 
authorities are not afflicted with the infirmity of pro- 
moting unmeritorious ofiicers in the regular army, it 
is but just to conclude that Doubleday had richly 
earned all that w^as bestowed upon him. He had 



80 THE HEROES OF THE TTAE, FOK THE L'NIO:S*. 

merited the confidence and secured the respect of 
the Lieutenant-Generah General Scott never mten- 
tionally ornamented the shoulders of imbeciles and 
incompetents with the insignia of authority. Years 
of patient and arduous toil had preceded his attain- 
ment of the captaincy in the artillery service. Thus 
a line opportunity to detect his character and abili- 
ties was aflbrded those responsible for the efiiciency 
of the Union forces. 

Consequently, Doubleday's promotion to the cap- 
taincy of the First United States Artillery was no 
meager compliment to his capability and fidelity. 
He proved himself equal to the command with 
which he was intrusted. To meet its responsibili- 
ties at this grave emergency required the very high- 
est order of executive ability. ^Not only inflexible 
courage, but every other excellence ever distinctive 
of the military chieftain was needed. The First 
United States Artillery was the only corps in Sum- 
ter, and he was senior Captain of that corps. To it 
he imparted much of his own unconquerable spirit. 

When Fort Sumter was about to be attacked, 
Captain Doubleday proved himself equal to the great 
occasion. He shrank not from the burden laid upon 
him, but met and bore it along with the most ex- 
emplary heroism. Like an Alpine peak in the 
mountain storm, he stood unmoved and stern amid 
the tempest of iron hail that swept about him. 

The ominous boom of cannon was heard in the 
distance. The exciting play, with unequal actors, 
had begun. Ex-Senator Chestnut tired the first shot 
from the Mt. Plea^sant battery. It was the opening 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 81 

gun of the rebellion. Its reverberations still tbunder 
through the land. It was the opening of the sluice- 
gates of desolation. They never dreamed of the 
fearful war they were inaugurating, or the ruin they 
were bringing npon themselves. 

To this first gun of the rebellion Captain Double- 
day promptly replied from Sumter. He threw the 
first shot in the suppression of the insurgents. Then 
was fought that splendid artillery duel that made 
the world stand aghast, and resulted so gloriously 
to our arms. Then transpired the opening scenes of 
one of the most terrible wars, distinguished for its 
magnitude and mighty results, that was ever waged 
by a people. Then was displayed that audacious 
bravery and sublime courage alone distinctive of 
Americans. 

Captain Doubleday was ever present where duty 
summoned him and where the danger was the 
greatest. As an ofiicer and patriot he covered him- 
self with glory upon the walls of Sumter. He failed 
in no instance to do his duty, and heartily seconded 
the plans and efibrts of his superior. He came out 
of the contest uninjured, but greatly distinguished as 
an officer. The government at Washington promptly 
recognized his great deserts by promoting him to a 
much higher and more responsible command. As 
one of the heroes of Sumter he has been avv^arded 
the position that he so richly deserved. He is a 
Brigadier-General of volunteers. As such he has 
more than met the expectations that his conduct at 
Sumter authorized the people to entertain. 



82 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

CAPTAIN SEYMOUR. 

Captain Truman Seymour, like Captain Double- 
day, is a native of the State of 'New York. He was 
born in Albany, the splendid capital of the Empire 
State. In no better nor in any more chivalrous State 
could he have been born and reared. It is distin- 
guished for its earnest morality, creative industry, 
tireless energy, great inventive genius, and flaming 
patriotism. In Captain Seymour these and kindred 
traits of character are quite conspicuous. In all re- 
spects, up to this writing, he has proved himself 
worthy of his native State. In every element of true 
manhood he stands out prominently amid the masses 
of that populous portion of the Union. 

In person_ he is tolerably bulky, stout, muscular, 
and wiry. He is capable of great and prolonged 
eflibrt. His powers of endurance, as his military ca- 
reer under Scott in Mexico, under Anderson at Sum- 
ter, and under McClellan before Richmond, fully 
proves, is truly wonderful. At the bombardment of 
Sumter he was about in his prime, as he was nearly 
thirty-five years old. 

His countenance is both pleasant and impressive 
in expression. Upon the beholder accustomed to 
men and things, his general appearance always makes 
a most favorable impression. His manners are afl:a- 
ble and courteous; his manly frankness wins the 
esteem and secures the respect of all who know him. 
About him is none of that pretentious haughtiness 
and unbending arrogance that is so frequently dis- 
tinctive of West Point graduates, and serves to 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 83 

distingiiisli tlie pretender from the gentleman, wliile 
it repels all that deserve to be attracted. As is al- 
ways the case with men of real courage, he is as 
unassuming as he is brave and loyal. 

His physiognomy is rather of the Andrew Jackson 
type, but without Andrew Jackson's severity of ex- 
pression. His eyes are of medium size, black, pierc- 
ing, and brilliant. Through them his manly soul 
looks out upon the world, and discovers to the ob- 
server all that passes within. His eyes, like his soul, 
are utterly incapable of duplicity. For no quality is 
he more distinguished than his uniform frankness. 
He is always as open and genial as the May morn- 
ing. He has a decidedly logical cast of mind. He 
excels in the study of numbers, but does well in any 
department of literature. He acts with deliberation 
and moves with caution, when caution is necessary. 
His deeds may not always be brilliant, but they will 
never lack the elements of substantial utility. 

In 1842 he entered West Point as a cadet. "While 
in this school his faculties were developed, polished, 
and directed into a military channel. In 1846 he 
graduated with distinguished honor. Soon after 
completing his course of study he entered the mili- 
tary service of his country. He was one of the 
young heroes who accompanied and so signally 
aided General Scott in his triumphant progress 
through Mexico. He stood in the front ranks of 
the distinguished soldiers of that war. At the battle 
of Cerro Gordo he gallantly won for himself the 
brevet rank of First Lieutenant. At the fiercely 
fought and stubbornly contested battle of Contreras, 



84 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UXIOK*. 

he and Lieutenant Brannon led the van of the at- 
tacking corps. How bravely this attack was made 
and how gallantly it was sustained the history of 
the Mexican war will ever hear honorable testimony. 
Throughout that entire w^ar he maintained, by the 
most gallant deeds and desperate lighting, the high 
position into Vv^hich he vaulted at his first battle. 

At the close of the war with Mexico, Lieutenant 
Seymour returned to West Point Academy, where 
he spent some time as instructor in drawing. For 
this important post he was admirably qualified. He 
had a steady, skillful hand, and a keen, accurate eye. 

But at length he was invited to a more active and 
hazardous field of toil. The Indians of Florida, un- 
der the leadership of Billy Bowlegs, had become 
restive, and were committing serious depredations 
upon the citizens of that State. It was necessary 
that they should be arrested in their marauding ex- 
peditions and taught a salutary lesson for the future. 
Lieutenant Seymour, with others, was selected for 
this important work. After prosecuting an active 
campaign of some length against the Indians, in 
compliance with orders from head-quarters ho re- 
sumed the dull routine of garrison duty. In this 
military department he faithfully served his country 
and earned the office of Captain. 

With the rank of junior Captain he found him- 
self associated with Major Anderson in Fort Sumter, 
when the rebellion broke out into open hostilities. 
Here he ranked next to Captain Doubleday. 

He was among the bravest of the small but brave 
band who manned the guns of Sumter. With anx- 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 85 

ious and hopeful eye the loyal States looked to this 
heroic garrison. ISTor did they look in vain. They 
were not disappointed. Their expectations were 
more than met in its gallant bearing. On the mem- 
orahle 12th and 13th Captain Seymour showed that 
he had not degenerated from what he was on the 
plains of Mexico, nor from what his nohle ancestors 
were on the Revolutionary fields. He fought his 
guns with the greatest gallantry and efficiency. 
Possessing rare physical ^oowers, he was ceaseless in 
his efforts to render the defense of Sumter worthy the 
character of American soldiers. His efforts were not 
ineffectual. Even when the continuance of hostili- 
ties was rendered impossible by the great conflagra- 
tion in the interior of the fort, he strenuously opposed 
raising the white flag, the emblem of surrender. He 
still hoped to extinguish the flames, resume hostili- 
ties, and finally annihilate the rebel batteries. He 
seemed to prefer perishing in the flames to that of 
surrendering to the insurgents. This was not to be 
wondered at. To resign freedom of action, and even 
life itself, into the hands of the rebels, was no agree- 
able afiair to contemplate, much less to realize. To 
him the humiliation of surrender seemed too great 
for human endurance. Chagrined and mortified 
when summoned to surrender his guns, by which he 
and his men had so nobly stood, he yielded with 
sullen reluctance as the tears started to his eyes. 
His soul was as unconquerable as the fiery souls of 
his ancestors of Revolutionary notoriety. He proved 
himself an American soldier. His having fought in 
Sumter is sufficient in itself to assign his name a 



86 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

permanent place in tlie annals of tlie brave, tlie great, 
and the patriotic. 

But liis heroic career cticl not terminate at Sumter. 
He did not feel at liberty to retire to private life on 
the fame he had already earned. It was not for 
glory that he exerted himself, though glory accrued 
to him from his exertions. His life of activity had 
just been fully inaugurated. He entered, with glow- 
ing enthusiasm, into the struggle going on between 
despotism and liberty, slavery and freedom. He 
was found wholly on the side of liberty and freedom. 
There was no likelihood of mistaking his sentiments 
and purposes. Eor his brave and princely conduct 
at Sumter he was promoted to the command of a 
Brigadier-General of volunteers. This honor was 
worthily bestowed, because nobly earned. He was 
not, as too many were, elevated through political 
interest or political trickery. He had merited his 
honors. IsTo one ever more worthily wore the single 
star of the Brigadier-General. He felt at home and 
easy in his new position, because he was every way 
qualiHed for such a responsible situation. He was 
not one of those aspirants to military distinction who 
had nothing of the General but the tinsel and trap- 
pings to commend him to such a command. In 
every essential he was a General. 

In the Grand Army of the Potomac he was as- 
signed a command. He v^^as associated with the 
young and popular McClellan. Whether this was 
fortunate or otherwise, we are not prepared to say. 
At once he entered upon the prosecution of his 
great duties. He was ever found at his post, careful 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 87 

of all tlie wants of liis men, and labored incessantly 
for the promotion of their efficiency. In all this he 
succeeded most admirably. His was one of the best 
drilled, the most decorous in deportment, and effi- 
cient brigades in the Army of the Potomac. 

He was one of those whose valor, deeds, and suffisr- 
ings have rendered tl. e James River as illustrious as 
the Rhine. He bravely fought at Eair Oaks, and 
other subsequent battles, until the great retrograde 
movement for the change of base commenced. 
Then, for six days and nights, without any repose and 
but little food, he was in his saddle, encouraging his 
men, rallying them to the unequal contest, holding 
them steady in the deadliest lire ; and at length, 
when weary nature was about giving way, and after 
passing through the severest campaign of which we 
have any record, in connection with other generals, 
defeated the rebels at Malvern Hill. 

To General Seymour and his noble band of veter- 
ans this was an awful period. It will never be fully 
known what they endured and through what they 
passed. Though the Union cause seemed to be des- 
perate, througli the unjustifiable and timid delays of 
the General-in- chief, yet he fought and struggled on 
as if the rebel hordes were being defeated at every 
point. It was heroic conduct like his, not the skill 
of the commanding General, that eventually saved 
the army from ruin and the nation from destruction. 
It was such Generals, with their brave commands, 
that were exposed to the dangers, endured the hard- 
ships, and did the fighting of that terrible retreat, 



88 THE HEROES 01? THE ^YA^R FOR THE UNION. 

while McClellaii was always at a safe distance from 
the enemy, and in a comfortahle and secure retreat. 
To appease his intense hunger and to sustain na- 
ture, General Seymour, on the seventh day of terror, 
carnage, defeat, and want, plucked the wheat from 
the stalk in the field, and ate it I And yet, amid all 
this, more the result of incompetency and blunder- 
ing than the fruits of rebel valor and numbers, he 
never thought of ultimate defeat or of giving up in 
despondency. Such a General can not be conquered, 
and deserves immortality. Of such a General we 
may well be proud. Of such a General, his future 
may be expected to be as great and glorious as his 
past has been noble and heroic. 

FIRST LIEUTENANT TALBOT. 

Lieutenant Theodore Talbot is a native of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. Though a native of a slave terri- 
tory, where slavery has long existed in its most bar- 
barous and disgraceful forms, and where it has ever 
been supported by the most barbarous laws, he re- 
mained uninfected with the secession v^irus. He 
knew no North, no South. He was a citizen of the 
United States. To the whole country he Avas loyal ; 
upon the whole of his country he bestowed his affec- 
tion. Of his country, as a whole, he was justly 
proud. Into no sectional strife could he be induced 
to enter. It was from his country, as a whole, that 
he derived his importance and life its charms and 
value. He was too wise and too patriotic to kuock 
from under him his only support, and, with the 
millions of American citizens, sink into contempt!- 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTEK. 89 

ble insignificance. His patriotism was far, very far, 
in advance of his local interests. He felt fully per- 
suaded that he could not improve, but would se- 
riously impair, his condition as a citizen, by herding 
with tlfe negro-holding traitors. He was altogether 
in the right. With two dissimilar and discordant 
governments on this continent, we would become 
contemptibly weak — the subjects of foreign deris- 
ion, if not of foreign outrage. Every other nation, 
however petty and contemptible, presuming upon 
our feebleness consequent upon our disintegration, 
would insult us upon the least pretext, and resort to 
extortion upon all occasions. Eut our unity will in- 
sure honorable and courteous treatment ; or, at least, 
fear of our power will deter them from infringing 
upon our national rights. Tlie unjust, unkind, and 
even cruel manner in which the European aristoc- 
racy is treating us while struggling for national ex- 
istence, ia an indication of the foul and unfeeling 
treatment that would be received from these rapa- 
cious oppressors after our country would be divided. 
Than this no greater calamity could befall any peo- 
ple. Therefore, to the perpetual unity of America 
Lieutenant Talbot devoted himself with prompt- 
ness, energy, and constancy. 

Lieutenant Talbot entered the service of the 
United States about thirteen years previous to the 
malignant attack upon Fort Sumter. He was in 
command as senior First Lieutenant of the First 
United States Artillery. This was both an honorable 
and a responsible position. He filled it with distiu' 
guished ability. 
8" 



90 THE HEUOES OF THE WAR FOB THE UNION. 

Lieutenant Talbot was with the chivah'ous hand 
of Sumter from the first. With it he patiently 
passed through the trying ordeal preceding the 
bombardment of the fort. Instead of murmuring 
at his apparently hard lot, he gloried in having such 
an opportunity to exhibit his ardent devotion to the 
" Stars and Stripes." His was not a paltry nor self- 
ish soul. In his heart of hearts ha took in the whole 
people, East and West, North and South. He was 
fully alive to the magnitude of the occasion, and was 
ready to offer himself as a victim to appease the de- 
mon of discord. He remained unappalled by the 
dark cloud of danger that overhung him and his 
brave comrades, and stood, calm and self-possessed, 
ready for any work. 

Hence, a few days before the bombardment of 
Sumter he was sent, by Major Anderson, to Wash- 
ington for such instructions as the exigencies of the 
case demanded. In due time he arrived at the Cap- 
ital. He saw and had an interview with the Presi- 
dent. Having been furnished with all necessary in- 
structions, he returned to his post of danger and 
chity. He was eager to aid his companions in arms 
in the last and trying hour. But he was doomed to 
bitter disappointment. The Confederate authorities 
of Charleston would not permit him to re-enter the 
fort. He was confined within the limits of the vil- 
lainous city of Charleston. He Avas compelled to be 
an idle spectator of the deadly struggle in which 
Sumter was engaged. As the various departments 
of the government at Washington retained con 
cealed traitors, the rebels at Charleston were in- 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 91 

formed of tlie nature of liis instructions before lie 
had left the Capital. As those instructions laid upon 
the rebels the necessity of taking Sumter by vio- 
lence, if at all, or else to back down from their proud 
and defiant position, they determiDed that Talbot 
should not be permitted to take part in the defense. 
They detained him in Charleston, contrary to all 
justice, that they might the more easily crush the 
handful of men in whose custody reposed the honor 
of the old flag. This was a flagrant outrage ! 

IsTumerous as were the rebel assailants, they 
seemed to dread the addition of a single man to the 
small garrison. Their treatment of Talbot was both 
infamous and cowardly. Their having permitted 
him to leave for Washington necessitated them, by 
every honorable consideration, to permit him to re- 
gain his companions. But the rebel authorities, in 
consonance w^ith their first movements and estab- 
lished axioms, did not hesitate to do any thing that 

would advance their nefarious cause. They stooned 

«/ J. 

to the ignominy of violating one of the laws of civil- 
ized warfare to keep from the heroic garrison a sin- 
gle man ! A cause needing such execrable conduct 
must necessarily be essentially bad. And so it is. 
Their actions were not in the interests of humanity, 
but were for the permanent oppression of the poor 
of the human race. They arrayed wealth against 
poverty, and intelligence against ignorance. They 
desired to make no other use of their riches and 
intelligence than to oppress and bind in chains the 
unfortunate ! The greatest scourges of the human 



92 THE HEEOES OE THE WAR FOE THE UXIOIT. 

race, fheir conduct is tlie most infamous. And tliis 
is Southern chivalry ! 

It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that they 
detained Lieutenant Talbot in Charleston during' 
the attack upon the fort, and necessitated him to 
helplessly look on while myriads of rebels were 
crushing his associates in arms. Poor fellow ! This 
m.ust have been one of the severest ordeals through 
Y/hich he ever passed. To be powerless to aid his 
fellow-soldiers, while they were stretching every 
nerve and exerting every power to save the fort, 
must have been trying, indeed, to his brave and 
patriotic heart. Hours seemed prolonged into days, 
while the intense agony of that period appeared as 
if it would never, never terminate. 

But he lived through those hours with the hope 
of being able, at some future period, to wipe out the 
insult and avenge his unjustifiable detention. In 
his devotion to his country, and in his determination 
to fight the secessionists to the last, he grew despe- 
rate. They had hoped to make a friend ; they made 
an implacable enemy. His ignoble imprisonment 
soon terminated. With the brave garrison, whose 
gallant fighting deserved a better issue, he was gra- 
ciously permitted by the magnanimous rebels to 
return to the loyal States. To the loyal States he 
returned with but one purpose animating his indig- 
nant soul. That purpose was, to expend his days 
and powers in grappling with the demon of treason 
until it was throttled. 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER." 93 



FIRST LIEUTENANT DAVIS. 



Indiana, one of the States most distinguished for 
the numbers, enthusiasm, and valor of the troops 
sent out to strangle the dragon of rebellion, gave 
birth to and claims the allegiance of Lieutenant 
Jefferson C. Davis. He is a "Hoosier" by birth, 
culture, tastes, and attachments. He is a self-made 
man. He commenced his military career by enter- 
ing the ranks of the Second Indiana Regiment of 
volunteers, during our war with Mexico. He was 
simply a humble ^^ni-a^^e. His conspicuous cour- 
age, his close application to the study of military 
tactics, and his energy in every thing pertaining to 
military duties, soon won the respect and secured 
the confidence of his superiors. His rare abilities 
and great enthusiasm soon raised him above the po- 
sition he occupied when he left home. His whole 
career in Mexico was distinguished for the deeds 
and . characteristics most distinctive of the great 
warrior. So high did he stand in the estimation of 
the officers from his own State that, through their 
joint recommendation, he received the appointment 
of Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army. His 
assignment to this command aflbrds the most con- 
clusive evidence of his excellent qualities and supe- 
rior endowments. 

But though the Second Indiana Regiment was ex- 
tensively made up of such men as Jeff. C. Davis, of 
whom we shall subsequently speak, yet the history 
of its Mexican campaign is not very enviable as rep- 
resented by certain military characters. Jefferson 



94 THE HEUOES OE THE ^YAK FOR THE UNION. 

Davis of ^lississippi, tlie first President of the Soiitli- 
ern Confederacy, was commander of tlie brigade of 
which the Second Indiana was a part. He charged it 
loith cowardice. The stigma of cowardice ckmg to it 
in spite of every effort to vindicate it from so grave 
a charge. For a long time many believed it. Gen- 
eral Davis at that time stood high for integrity and 
ability in the estimation of the American people. In 
political circles of the Democratic school he wielded 
an influence far in advance of his deserts or capabili- 
ties. A Southern cavalier, he was deemed incapable 
of slandering a whole regiment. For a number of 
years these considerations gave character and the 
coloring of truth to this charge. 

But never, as subsequent events have proved, has 
a charge been falser or more malicious. A braver 
regiment than the Second Indiana was not in the 
army that invaded Mexico. The history of many 
of its members, and the uniformly daring conduct of 
Indiana troops during the rebellion, give the lie to 
Davis's charge of cowardice. Upon him a dark, ma- 
licious, and definite falsehood has been fastened, from 
which he can not relieve himself. If cowardice was 
at all exhibited upon the gory field of Buena Yista, 
the commander of the brigade must have been the 
only guilty one. On that memorable occasion he 
became disconcerted, lost his presence of mind, and, 
by his blundering and defective orders, threw the 
troops into such a position that they could not help 
themselves, and were liable to be cut to pieces. Had 
the Mexican lancers been at all enterprising, but few 
of his brigade would have escaped. 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 95 

Tlie charge of treachery can be more easily fixed 
on Jeff. Davis than that of cowardice npon an entire 
regiment. Of American soldiers there never was a 
regiment of cowards, nor the majority of any regi- 
ment. To suppose so is plainly preposterous. If the 
field and general ofiicers are brave and competent, the 
great majority of every regiment will fight, and fight 
nobly. It was the misfortune of the Second Indiana 
to be in Jeff. Davis's brigade. He attempted, and for 
a while succeeded, in fixing upon it the infamy with 
which he himself should alone have been covered. 
Such is now the general opinion. 

That the regiment of Indiana volunteers in which 
J. C. Davis served as a private was not made up 
of poltroons, subsequent events have fully proved. 
Though the charge of cowardice has been often re- 
peated and as often- refuted, yet its best refutation is 
found in the subsequent conduct of its officers and 
men, I^o regiment of that war has a nobler, grander, 
prouder record than the Second Indiana. Brigadier- 
Generals Rousseau, one of the heroes of the bloody 
battle at Shiloh, l^athaniel Kimball, the hero of the 
battle of Winchester, and Lovell, of the rebel army, 
were Captains of that slandered regiment when in 
Mexico. Colonel William L. Sanderson was also one 
of its Captains, Colonel B. F. Scribner was a Ser- 
geant, Lieutenant-Colonel Osbourne was a Captain, 
Major W. E. Spicely was a Captain, Major D. C. 
Thomas was a private. Captain J. Barrell a Lieuten- 
ant, and Captains William Abbott and John Hun- 
gates were also privates, while Lieutenants Penniug- 
ton and McCoy occupied a similar position in the 



96 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Second Indiana ; and last, tliongli not least, General 
Jeff. C. Davis, as already stated, was a private in this 
regiment. Can any other regiment, or any other 
two regiments, point to so many distinguished offi- 
cers and say, " These men once formed the rank and 
file of our old Mexican regiment? "• We douht it. 
The like of this has never before nor since occurred. 
It is without a parallel in the history of regiments. 
Yet this reoriment was branded with cowardice ! 
Cowards rarely rise above the surface of things ; 
much less likely are they to rise to distinguished po- 
sitions. Thus, then, the real courage of this Indiana 
regiment, and the courage of the subject of this 
paper, is fully and substantially vindicated. 

Thouorh Jeff". C. Davis has a name similar to that 
borne by the President of the insurgent government, 
yet in nature, in principles, and in honor, they bear no 
resemblance to each other. The former is devotedly 
loyal ; the latter is rotten with disloyalty. Jeff*. C. 
Davis is nobly fighting for the integrity of the whole 
country ; Jeff. Davis is meanly fighting for its dis- 
memberment. The former is infinitely above the 
meanness of treason ; the latter is mantled with the 
infamy of the blackest treason. Davis of Indiana 
has covered himself with the glory of the patriot- 
soldier ; Davis of Mississippi has covered himself with 
the odium of a leading conspirator. The one has 
given his all for the salvation and perpetuity of his 
native land; the other has devoted his all to compass 
its overthrow and ruin. A braver, fruer patriot or 
more competent officer, for his years, than Jeff. C. 
Davis never wielded a sword or held a command. 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 97 

At the desperate engagement of Sumter he was not 
behind the best in ardor and daring. Conspicuous 
throughout the contest, he moved amid the whizzing 
balls and hissing shell with the intrepid coolness and 
self-possession of a veteran. The honor of Indiana 
and of the Federal Government proved secure in his 
hands. He fully satisfied the people, and delighted 
the loyal, whose interests he represented and whose 
rights he defended. He showed that he was much 
more than an ordinary man, with more than ordi- 
nary powers. 

Toward the close of the bombardment, and when 
Sumter was wrapped in flames and filled with stifling 
smoke. General Wigfall presented himself with a 
flag of truce. After being admitted through an em- 
brasure, he signified the pacific nature of his mission, 
and assigned as a reason for his conduct that he saw 
that Sumter's flag was down. ^' Oh, sir, but it is iijp 
again," replied Lieutenant Davis. As the cannon- 
ading continued, Wigfall asked that the flag he held 
in his hand might be raised by some one upon the 
ramparts. "]!^o, sir," fiercely replied Lieutenant 
Davis, " we do n't raise a white flag. If you want 
your batteries to stop, you must stop them." N^obly 
answered ! Finding that Lieutenant Davis was not 
the man to flexibly yield to his desires, Wigfall went 
in search of Major Anderson. 

The high position to which he was elevated after 
the siege of Sumter aftbrds the clearest evidence of 
the great estimate placed upon him by those in au- 
thority. He was immediately promoted to the rank 
of Colonel of a volunteer regiment. As such he 
9 



98 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMOK". 

acquitted liimself in the most masterly style, and 
earned for himself new distinctions. lie was the first 
Federal officer who succeeded in taking any consid- 
erable number of rebel prisoners. In an engagement 
with the insurgents of Missouri, he succeeded, by 
promptitude and ingenuity, in capturing hundreds 
of them. This success not only placed in our hands 
prisoners of war equal in numbers to those of ours 
held by the rebels, but inspired the loyal heart with 
new hope and courage. It lifted the dark clouds 
that had so long curtained in the loyal Missourians, 
and let in the warm light of promise for the future, 

Jeff. C. Davis, though springing from the lap of 
humble life, is one of the rising commanders of the 
American army. Though but thirty years old, and 
commencing his military career as a private, he is a 
Brigadier- General. But few in the history of our 
country have done so well ; none have done better. 
A military star of the first magnitude, brilliantly 
shining in the galaxy of the brave, he bids fair to 
stand at the head of the list of the great and re- 
nowned — he promises to take the place and perform 
the deeds of the veteran Scott."^ 

But eventually a cloud overcast his brightening 
prospects. It was hoped by his friends and the friends 

*In bis ofl&cial report of the battle of Chattanooga and his inarch 
to the relief of Knoxville, General Sherman pays the following high 
compliment to General Jeff. C. Davis and his division, (they accom- 
panied him to Knoxville) : 

"I must," says Sherman, " awai'd to this division the credit of the 
best order during our marches through East Tennessee, when long 
marches and the necessity of foraging to the right and left gave 
some reasons for disordered ranks." 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. * 99 

of the country that it was only a cloud, a temporary 
cloud, and that it would be brushed aside by the just 
decision of his superiors in command. It was his 
misfortune to be under the command of Major-Gen- 
eral ^N'elson. To appreciate the facts in the case, it 
must be known what General ^N'elson was at the head 
of the division. He was as much distinguished for 
profanity, rudeness, and the harsh treatment of 
his subordinates, as he was for reckless courage 
upon the battle-field. He was regarded the most 
stern, rigid, and needlessly severe disciplinarian in 
the whole army. When commanding men, he knew 
nothing but the inflexible execution of his will, 
whether arbitrary or otherwise. Had this been all, 
he would not have been so obnoxious to the anger 
and resentment of those who had it in their power to 
injure him. But he carried with him into the field 
the savage harshness, cruel severity, and intolerable 
tyranny distinctive of the navy when he was young. 
He practiced the theory of severity that he had 
learned by bitter experience when a midshipman on 
board a man-of-war. He bore down upon his sub- 
ordinates in the army as he had been borne down 
upon when in the navy. He introduced into the 
ranks of the volunteer soldiery the brutal tyranny of 
a man-of-war. He regarded all below him as so 
many machines, whose sole business was to obey him 
with automaton tameness and exactitude. Less than 
this did not satisfy him, but justified him, in his own 
opinion, in resorting to the severest measures to se- 
cure a blind and passive obedience. This he would 
have at any cost. This tyrannical disposition, iu 



100 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

connection with, excessive irritability, was tlie sole 
canse of his great misfortune. He seemed to forget 
that any body had sensibilities or rights bnt himself; 
Had he treated his subordinate officers like men 
with the sensibilities of men, he would now be at the 
bead of his corps, and a blessing to his country. But 
in attempting to do with others what he did not do 
with himself, he foolishly threw away his life. He 
sought to strictly govern others ; he utterly failed to 
govern himself. Though brave to a fault and inflex- 
ibly loyal, he carried into all he did the most irritat- 
ing insolence. He was imperious and violent in 
temper, brutally rude in manners, and utterly want- 
ing in respect for the feelings and rights of those of 
inferior rank. Though cringing and docile to his 
superiors, he was relentless in the persecution of 
those who fell under his ban, and untiring in dogging 
those for whom he felt any dislike. So whimsical 
were his tastes and so varied his humor, that it was 
utterly impossible to tell what would please or offend 
him. While his unhappy subordinates might be 
congratulating themselves as entitled to his approba- 
tion through assiduous effort, the storm would be 
gathering to burst upon their astonished heads. Iso 
one knew when to expect commendation or censure. 
Well-doing was as likely to bring down his wrath 
upon them as evil-doing. He appeared determined, 
at all events, to continually curse, bluster about, and 
abuse the officers and men under him. The wonder 
is, not that he was shot at all, but that he was borne 
with so long and so patiently. It was his admitted 
loyalty and heroism that saved him from the bullets 



THE OrnCERS OF SUMTER. IQl 

of liis own officers. Tlioiigli singularly amiable in 
the social circle, he was strangely despotic as an 
infantry officer. 

On the 29th of September, 1862, General Jeff. C. 
Davis shot him in the region of the heart. He died 
in half an hour after the infliction of the wound. 
The circumstances that led to this sad affair were 
simply these : General Davis had been appointed to 
organize the militia of Louisville into a brigade. A 
few days antecedent to this fatal occurrence, Davis 
came to l^elson to make arrangements for arming 
his men. On being asked how many men he had 
enrolled, he replied, " About twenty-five hundred." 
''About twenty-five hundred ! " iTelson exclaimed in 
anger and derision. He became very indignant that 
an officer in the Regular Army should be in, doubt 
about the number of men under his command. 
General Davis assured him, in the most respectful 
manner, that he designed making out an accurate 
list of his troops ere he drew the arms, that he only 
then sought to learn when and where arms could be 
secured, and that he was not yet done enlisting men 
in his brigade. These statements, instead of satis- 
fying General l^elson, as they would have done had 
he been a reasonable man, appeared to exasperate 
him to an unaccountable extent. He flew into a 
towering rage. He cursed General Davis in the 
most infamous style. While treating him in this 
very uncivil and discourteous manner. General Davis 
demanded that he receive the treatment clue from 
one gentleman to another, and from one general 
officer to another. This just and reasonable de- 



102 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

mand, for the making of which there would have 
been no occasion had I^elson been a gentleman, 
threw him into paroxysms of anger. As General 
Davis preferred his request in the modest language 
and with the calm demeanor of a gentleman, Kelson 
seemed to conclude that he would tamely bear any 
insult and indignity. He became more abusive than 
ever. The storm which had been evoked, instead 
of abating in the least, acquired a greatly augmented 
force. The interview was ended by Nelson order- 
ing General Davis, in the most absolute terms and 
unequivocal language, to report himself to General 
"Wright at Cincinnati, threatening him with instant 
arrest if his orders were not carried out to the letter. 
But this General Davis did not do ; he determined to 
remain where he was, and seek redress where he was 
so egregiously wronged. 

On the morning of the 29th, in the presence of 
Governor Morton of Indiana, and many distin- 
guished officers and civilians. General Davis called 
again on General Kelson, respectfully asking an ex- 
planation of the treatment he had received at the 
hands of the latter. General Kelson glared on him 
with protruding eyeballs of fire, his cheeks all aglow 
from the passions kindling within him. After a 
moment's pause, he said to General Davis, " Do you 
mean to insult me, you puppy ? " He then ap- 
proached him, and slapped him in the face with his 
open palm ! By this act Kelson designed showing 
Davis the profound contempt with which he regarded 
him. 

General Davis made no reply, but his face was 



THE 0?FICEES OF SUMTEU. 103 

awful witli tlie lividness of tlie mingled emotions of 
rage, indignation, and shame. It is said by those 
present that his appearance was positively frightful. 
Obtaining a pistol from General Gibson, he followed 
General I^elson as he was going up to his room, 
perhaps for his weapons, and shot him through the 
chest. He fell into the arms of a friend near by, 
exclaimiDg, "I'm a dead man!" 

This is the sum and substance of the whole affair. 
General Davis had committed no crime at all, much 
less one justifying the harshness and flagrant injus- 
tice with which E"elson treated him. Without the 
shadow of a cause he was dismissed from his com- 
mand, and grossly outraged in the presence of his 
friends and other officers. After being struck m 
the face, as if he were E'elson's slave, it seemed 
worse than death not to resent the foul affront. 
Indeed, it is highly probable that his fellow-officers 
would not have suffered him to have continued in 
the army had he not signally avenged the outrage. 
He would have been universally despised for his pu- 
sillanimity, and every insolent upstart would have 
been thrusting his fist in his face. The stigma of 
cowardice would have attached to and degraded 
him wherever he would have gone. Self-preserva- 
tion impelled General Davis to perpetrate that fear- 
ful deed, if naught else. The crushing odium of hay- 
ing tamely submitted to such a bitter and public 
insult would have followed him like a fearful grave- 
yard specter. The public and peculiar circum- 
stances under which the last insult was given 
greatly increased its intolerable enormity. To be 



104 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

able to Uve at all in any kind of peace, witli any de- 
gree of satisfaction and honor, it was essential, in 
the public estimation, and in the estimation of 
General Davis and the military code, that General 
Nelson should die! To this dire necessity was he 
driven by the inexorable circumstances with which 
he was encompassed. 

Though we utterly condemn, as highly immoral 
and unnecessary, all such deeds, yet, if ever mortal 
is justified in taking the life of another, General 
Davis had such justification. It seems to be the 
general opinion — the opinion of the world and the 
army — that he could not have done less, and 
retained his self-respect and the respect of others. 
It is trite that this view of the subject excludes 
the ideas and solemnities of an eternity with future 
rewards and punishments. But it is, never the- 
less, the view of those who give laws to irrelig- 
ious society and shape the destiny of men in gen- 
eral. No one desirous of succeeding in a martial 
career dare despise that opinion. This is unfortu- 
nate, but nevertheless true. While no one but the 
friends of Nelson censured him, all deeply deplored 
the apparent necessity of such a course of action. 

In striking General Davis in the face, and heap- 
ing upon him the opprobrious epithets of "puppy' 
and "coward," General Nelson appears the haughty, 
insolent, unfeeling tyrant — not the magnanimous 
General that he could well afford to be. At this last 
interview he had the opportunity of earning more 
glory and renown, by making General Davis honor- 
able amends, than that earned in all his previous 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 105 

victories. But he let himself down to an infinite 
depth, and smote the already injured soldier in the 
face!" The whole aflair is to be deeply deplored. 
Yet General Davis should not be condemned too se- 
verely, while General ^t^elson's tyranny should not 
pass unreprobated. General Davis committed a 
great moral wrong; but the extraordinary circum- 
stances leading to its perpetration may extenuate 
his guilt, though they may not excuse the crime. 
His provocations v^ere of the most intense character. 
It is evident that the public, whose stern voice ne- 
cessitated him to either take the life of Nelson or 
sink forever beneath the odium of cowardice, will 
not be very harsh in its judgment of the guilt at- 
taching to the deed. 

Since this unfortunate event General Davis has 
done good service to his country. He is among the 
few officers who are always at their posts. ISTo 
Brigadier-General stands fairer with his superiors, 
nor shares to a greater extent in the confidence of 
his men. 

SECOXD LIEUTENANT HALL. 

Lieutenant J. M. Hall hails from the Empire 
State. Amid the grand and beautiful scenery of the 
majestic Hudson he was born and reared. ]^o doubt 
but what these impressive and natural surroundings 
had much to do in imparting character and vigor to 
.his versatile intellect. The least impressible are 
often extensively affected by these charming agen- 
cies. Consequently, the mind actively alive to the 
varied beauties and continued loveliness of nature 
can not easily escape being molded by them. From 



106 THE HEEOES OF THE "WAR FOIl THE UNION. 

nnder these benign influences^, young Hall did not 
emerge without bearing their specific and distin- 
guished traces. 

To as lengthened and laborious a service of his 
country as that of most of his associates at Sumter 
Lieutenant Hall could not lay claim. Though only 
three years in the employment of his government, 
he displayed military talents of a very respectable 
order, wanting only time for their full development. 
His patriotism was ardent, his courage unshrinking, 
and his zeal inextinguishable. These traits of char- 
acter stood out prominently at the siege of Sumter. 
To the infirmity of fear, like Lord ^Nelson, he was 
an entire stranger. He proved himself equal to his 
command and the great occasion that summoned 
him to stand by the guns of Sumter. Though hold- 
ing an inferior rank, his conduct, his deeds, on those 
memorable and historic days, were of no inferior 
grade. His name and that of Sumter, with their 
histories, will be inseparably associated together in 
the annals of America and in the recollection of 
posterity. 

CAPTAIN FOSTER. 

I^ew Hampshire was nobly represented, at the 
opening battle of this great and atrocious rebellion, 
in the person and deeds of Captain J. G. Foster. 
He was in command of the Engineer Corps. He 
must have difiered widely from the Revolutionary 
sons of JSTew Hampshire if he did not fill a promi- 
nent place and enact honorable deeds at the tragedy 
of Fort Sumter. 

That he fully sustained the previously earned rep- 



THE OFFICERS OF SUMTER. 107 

utation of liis native State for courage, sagacity, and 
patriotism, his great actions throughout that awful 
period fully attest. He demonstrated his fitness to 
be one of those who stood with intrepidity betwixt 
our government and its fanatical destroyers. He 
promptly performed his whole duty, and firmly 
maintained his country's rights in its hour of trial, 
humiliation, and betrayal. Honor pointed out but 
one course for him to pursue, and that was, to stand 
or fall, live or die, with the freedom or enslavement 
of his native land. He preferred defeat or death 
beneath the " Stars and Stripes," to success beneath 
the ^' Stars and Bars." He felt that he could endure 
any thing better than the infamy of deserting his 
colors when they most needed his assistance and 
fidelity. 

His rare devotion to his country, when defection 
was the rule, fidelity the exception, has carved for 
him a name upon the pillar of patriotic fame that 
w^ill live, and favorably influence the masses, as 
long as patriotism finds a home in an American 
heart. 

FIRST LIEUTENANT SNYDER. 

Associated with Captain Foster in the Engineer 
Corps was G. W, Snyder, First Lieutenant. With 
three others of this immortal band, he was a native 
of New York. He had been but five years in the 
military service of the United States. His braA^e 
deeds during the siege and bombardment of Sumter 
secured for him the most honorable mention. He 
laboriously aided in placing the fort in the best de- 



108 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNTOK. 

fensible state. The Engineer Corps had much to 
do, and but little to do with. Yet where they 
lacked the}^ created material, and, by ingenious ex- 
pedients, accomplished that which was regarded 
difficult or impossible. Lieutenant Snyder was one 
of the most laborious and energetic men in the En- 
gineer Corps. 

SECOND LIEUTENANT MEADE. 

The last in command on this illustrious and im- 
mortal list is R. K. Meade, Second Lieutenant 
of the Engineer Corps. He is a son of the " Old 
Dominion," once so enthusiastic in her devotion to 
the lohole country, but now covered over with the 
disgrace of the blackest treason. A few of her 
children, educated at West Point at the expense of 
the government, have remained faithful to the old 
flag. Among these we may place young Meade. 
Though we know but little or nothing of him be- 
yond his connection with the heroes of Fort Sumter, 
this is sufficient to assign him an imperishable place 
in the catalogue of those whom the people delight 
to honor. With him we close our pictures of the 
officers of Fort Sumter. 

THE BOYS OF SIJMTER. 

History furnishes no parallel to the stubborn and 
heroic defense of Fort Sumter. In all that imparts 
immortality to an event, and displays the magnitude 
of the human powers of endurance, the defense of 
Sumter stands out conspicuously and alone. Its 
gloomy grandeur, its stout resistance, its serene pa- 



THE BOYS OF SUMTER. 109 

triotism, and the fierce and unflincliing bravery of 
the whole garrison, constitute it one of the most 
remarkable events recorded in the annals .of the 
whole world. jS'ot only the officers, but the ^privates, 
were heroes. They manifested more than ordinary 
elements of character. 

But eighty men constituted the defensive force of 
Sumter, but they were men. Of these, fifteen be- 
longed to the garrison band. Yet these eighty men 
grappled thirty-four hours with seven thousand rebel 
soldiers and seventeen forts and batteries ! This was 
more like a battle of the gods than a battle of men. 
The First United States Artillery must necessarily 
have been composed of more than ordinary men — 
of more than ordinary soldiers. They proved them- 
selves capable of doing and suffering for their coun- 
try to the utmost extent of human ability, ^ot a 
murmur fell from their pale, parched lips. Pro- 
tracted hunger did not enfeeble their patriotism nor 
impair their courage, though it weakened their 
bodies. They endured and fought with- a persist- 
ence that finds an existence only in the bravest and 
truest hearts. The palmiest days of ancient chiv- 
alry furnish no more illustrious examples of heroism 
than those furnished by this garrison. Their devo- 
tion to the old flag, beneath whose ample folds they 
had stood so long and patiently, was as inflexible as 
fate itself There was Roman valor displayed ; ay, 
American valor. From this event other nations will 
draw illustrations for their histories and ornaments 
for their literature. Is'o more to Marathon, Platea, 
Salamis, or Pharsalia will authors resort exclusively 



110 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE XJNIO!T. 

for examples of intelligent greatness and heroic 
daring, or for gems with which to adorn their pages. 
For the future, Xorth America will furnish most of 
the intellectual mines, opulent in precious ores, in 
which the orator, historian, and poet will delve. In 
our history, from the siege and hombardment of 
Sumter to the conclusion of the great rebellion, will 
be found illustrations of the best and worst — noblest 
and most abject — passions of the human heart. The 
magnanimous and loyal Lincoln will be contrasted 
with the selfishness, treason, and unholy ambition 
of Jeff. Davis. The intrepid conduct of General 
Rosecrans will shame the sneaking treason of Gen- 
eral Joe Johnston, indebted to the United States for 
his education. And so of all the others. Then our 
officers and 2^nz;a^e5 will stand out prominently in 
all the patriotic and martial excellencies ever dis- 
tinctive of man. The great extremes occupied by 
the Union and rebel armies will exhibit, on the one 
hand, the noble hight to which w" ell- directed efibrts 
will raise a people, and, on the other band, the fear- 
ful depths of infamy into which their unbridled pas- 
sions w^ill lead them when permitted to have the 
ascendency. 

Of these patriots, of whom the best and truest 
may well be proud, are the well-tried " Sumter 
boys." Considering the great extent of their do- 
ings, the extent and severity of their sufferings, and 
the full proof that they have given of their loyalty, 
it is not to be w^ondered at that they should be as- 
signed so conspicuous a place in the hearts of the 
American people. It is not to be wondered at that 



THE BOYS OF SUMTER. Ill 

upon them public honors have been so lavishly be- 
stowed. It is not to be wondered at that they were 
greeted with tears of gratitude and received with 
rare cordiality when they landed at 'New York. 
They were infinitely w^orthy, for they were our 
battle-scarred heroes. They are a portion of the 
class of Americans to whom President Lincoln paid 
so pointed and valuable a compliment in his annual 
message to Congress. In both the "War and Xavy 
Departments desertions had been numerous among 
all grades of officers. So great was the defection 
among the " shoulder-strapped gentry " that it was 
difhcult to tell whom to trust or whom to fear. 
Those enjoying easy berths and receiving large sala- 
ries became traitors by the score ; " but," said Mr. 
Lincoln in the message already referred to, *' in no 
instance, not even in Texas, when deserted, betrayed, 
and sold by the hoary traitor Twiggs, had a com- 
mon soldier, a private in the ranks, deserted his 
colors ! " iSTo higher compliment could have been 
paid to any class of men. ITot having been edu- 
cated at West Point Militar}^ Academy, the hotbed 
of bad morals and loose principles, but taught at 
home by honest and loyal parents, these privates 
were ignorant enough to be true to their country; 
they did not know enough of villainy to be traitors. 
Such w^ere the men intrusted with the honor of our 
flag — with the very life of the nation. That trust 
was faithfully kept — was nobly met. Had the re- 
bellion depended upon the privates of the Federal 
Army it w^ould never, never have had an existence. 
The infamy of betraying the flag, and of originat- 



112 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE TJNI0I7. 

ing tlie rebellion, belongs not to the poorly-paid, 
badly-fed, and hard- worked privates, but to the well- 
paid and highly honored officers of the army ! 

During the bombardment of Sumter " the boys " 
escaped all injury, with one exception. A piece of 
a shell struck Sergeant Kearnan, an old veteran of 
the Mexican war, on the head, and felled him to the 
ground. Regaining his senses, he was asked if he 
was much hurt. "I^o," said he, "I was only 
knocked down temporarily," and resumed his duties 
and cheerfulness. Thus they all fortunately escaped. 

To the brave " Sumter boys " we owe a deep 
debt of gratitude. They saved us from hopeless 
dishonor. They taught us how to resist insolent 
treason. In our grateful hearts their memories 
should live with perennial freshness. High upon 
the pyramid of fame should their names be in- 
scribed in imperishable characters. Our gratitude 
to them should be as constant and as conspicuous as 
their services to our country have been of substan- 
tial benefit. All honor to the " Sumter boys V 



BALTIMORE. 113 



CHAPTER IV. 

BALTIMORE. 

THE swiftness with ^vliich the seceding virus 
spread throughout the slaveholding states was 
both astonishing and alarming. Defection from the 
Federal Government was the rule of the South, 
fidelity the exception. It was feared that but few, 
if any, would escape the ravages of this Southern 
plague. Upon nearly all its deforming spots could 
be seen, and in the majority its perverting power 
could be detected. Its alarming premonitory symp- 
toms were appearing in every direction. 

Even the border states, whose decided interest 
it vWas to remain faithful to the Federal Govern- 
ment, were seething with the foul spirit of insurrec- 
tion. The events then transpiring, and the condition 
of things then distinctive of the Federal Govern- 
ment, did not in the least tend to dampen their 
ardor nor restrain their treasonable conduct. Its 
strange and stupid inactivity during the ignoble 
close of Buchanan's more ignoble Administration, 
was mistaken for the omens of cowardice or the 
feebleness preceding dissolution. The insurgents 
pretended to believe th£^ the old governm^ent was 
rapidly disintegrating, and lacked the ability to 
prevent so sad a catastrophe. Proud and confident 
10 



114 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

of their ability to meet any emergency that might 
arise in the progress of the rebellion, they acted a3 
if convinced that no effort sufficiently potent could 
be made to save the Union or to vindicate the 
government's authority over the seceded states. 

Hence, they gave loose reins to their passions, 
while, at the same time, their insolence grew in- 
supportable. They treated every patriot with the 
most galling contempt and insulting arrogance. 
IsTone but ardent and blustering rebels were per- 
mitted to enter their select circles, and in none but 
those attired with the infamy of treason was the least 
conffdence reposed. ^N'one were welcomed to their 
august assemblies but those who could pronounce 
the secession shibboleth. 

This Southern malady daily grew into greater pro- 
portions, until it culminated in the bombardment of 
Sumter. The conspirators were infatuated with their 
inglorious success at Charleston. They promised 
themselves future triumphs over the loyal citizens in 
the coming strife, attended with as little difficulty as 
the taking of Sumter. They professed to believe 
that the people of the loyal states were cowardly 
and hopelessly sordid. Incapable themselves of 
treating an enemy with magnanimity, they mistook 
our forbearance for cowardice, and our efforts to 
conciliate as evidences of pusillanimity. They 
coolly closed their eyes upon the most prominent 
facts, and hurried to conclusions that nothing but 
insanity could warrant. The whole South — that 
portion of the Union cursed with African slavery — 
expecting but feeble resistance and an easy victory 



BALTIMORE. 115 

over the imbecile l^orth, glowed and fused with the 
most intense enthusiasm. They were in the finest 
spirits. They had every thing in luxuriant abund- 
ance. They could not think of ever wanting any 
thing in the future. The rich spoil of desolated 
iN'orthern cities would afford them an endless supply 
of the elegancies of life. They deemed it unneces- 
sary to enlist soldiers for a longer period than six 
months.* The great future spread out before them 
decorated with the most bewitching colors, and 
lured them on with the most enchanting XDromises. 
To honor, triumph, glory, and opulence, every thing 
— includins: the Butternuts of the iS'orth — seemed to 
invite them. To the control of these delusions they 
surrendered themselves without the least reserve. 

A hint from any one that serious resistance might 
be encountered from the Korth, or that they might 
be defeated, elicited the most incredulous sneers. 
An expression of the least apprehension of danger 
was silenced by insolent denunciation, and all ideas 
of fear were crushed out of the doubting by the 
most arrogant dogmatism. That the groveling and 
shrinking K^orth should have the hardihood or 
effrontery to offer any serious impediments to the 
triumph of the chivalrous South, was regarded as 
most preposterous. Such a suggestion was received 
with the derisive laugh of the overconfident and 
self-sufficient foeman. It was only in the sunny 
South that the heroic spirit of the Eevolutionary 



* This was the policy of the rebel Secretary of War. He expected 
to see the North humbled or crushed within six months. 



116 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

sires existed. This was forever settled. From it no 
one dared to recede. 

Consequently^ througli the heated Southern brain 
floated the most gorgeous visions of future empire 
and power. These visions appeared to have an as- 
tonishing element of reality. The Southern chivalry 
regarded themselves the ruling caste of the United 
States. With President Lincoln's call for seventy- 
five thousand volunteers to quell the revolted States, 
the grandees and public functionaries prodigiously 
amused themselves. Over it they were quite merry. 
Prom the bogus President to the lowest officer the 
jeering laugh went rapidly round. They had not 
the least idea that Lincoln could command the serv- 
ices of half so many men. They believed their cause 
too decidedly popular in the Xorth to apprehend 
danger from a response to such a call. They looked 
with a kind of disdaining pity upon the efforts of 
the Federal Government to sustain its authority and 
suppress the rebellion. These polished official dig- 
nitaries contemplated its resistance to their encroach- 
ments more with contemptuous commiseration than 
with the deadly hatred with which they subsequently 
did. They regarded it so nearly extinct that it did 
not deserve hatred. 

They expected, consequently, to occupy the Federal 
Capital within a month after the fall of Sumter. Of 
the purpose to take Washington the rebel Secretary 
of War publicly boasted. Jeffi Davis promised him- 
self and supple minions the rare pleasure of chant- 
ing the Te Deitm, as conquerors, in one of the 
metropolitan churches. Indeed, to accomplish this 



BALTIMORE. 117 

ambitious project, at one period, lie seemed to have 
the fairest prospects. The traitorous South had been 
for months, if not for years, preparing for such an 
achievement. To prevent its occurrence the IN^orth 
was ahiiost wholly unprepared. The Federal Gov- 
ernment had but few soldiers and few arms. The 
South, through the agency of the virtuous Floyd, had 
stolen the most of our arms, with most of the ord- 
nance stores. The Caj^ital was at the mercy of the 
conspirators. Ordinary enterprise would have put 
them in possession of it, in spite of any resistance 
that could have been made, a few weeks after the 
capture of Sumter. A few dexetrous movements and 
a little energy would have made President Lincoln 
and cabinet fugitives from the seat of government, 
or prisoners in the hands of the insurgents. We 
shudder in thinking of the proximity of this catas- 
trophe — how nearly our Capital was gone ! "Why 
they did not then take it is a problem that the future 
alone can solve. One thing, however, is self-evident : 
God loas with us. 

But the oversanguine insurgents, rendered care- 
less by their previously uninterrupted successes, 
permitted the auspicious moment to pass unim- 
proved. President Lincoln, through the activity of 
the loyal sons of the I^orth, was daily deferring to 
a still more remote and indefinite period the capture 
of Washington. The loyal states were hurrying to 
the threatened Capital thousands of citizen soldiers. 
Pegiment after regiment wheeled into line of battle, 
girdling the seat of government with gleaming bay- 
onets. In a few days the myrmidons of Davis would 



118 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

find foemen worthy of their steel, ready to receive 
and dispose of them. This the rebels greatly feared, 
and, as the narrative will show, meanly, brutally 
sought to prevent the resort of volunteers to Wash- 
ington. The attempt, too, as will be seen, was in 
perfect harmony with the malignant character they 
had established. 

One of the first states that responded, in well- 
equipped and well-furnished regiments, to the urg- 
ent call of the President, was old Massachusetts, 
the cradle of liberty and the Revolution. Her sons 
manifested as much eagerness to preserve our liber- 
ties unimpaired as did their fathers to secure them. 
The old Puritan love of freedom revived in all its 
youthful vigor when the sullen boom of Sumter's can- 
non rolled along their sea-girt shores. The old flag, 
insulted and dishonored by the rebels, called out the 
strongest expressions of attachment, and around it 
were thrown strong arms for its defense and vindi- 
cation. Away they hurried to the scenes of danger 
and glory. On the 19th of April, 1861, the Sixth 
Regiment of the state of Massachusetts, en route for 
Washington, reached the city of Baltimore.* Hast- 
ening on to place their bodies between, the menaced 
Capital and the menacing conspirators, the members 
of this brave regiment were suddenly arrested in 
their movements by the traitors of the Monumental 
City. 

Then, in the streets of Baltimore, transpired scenes 

*' This regiment was commanded by Colonel E. P. Jones, of Pepper- 
ell, Maissacliusetts. 



BALTIMORE. 119 

sufficiently enormous to blancli with indignation 
every patriot's cheek, and crimson the traitor's with 
the deepest blush of shame. Here transpired scenes 
80 revolting to humanity, so dishonoring to man, 
and so unworthy the least remains of patriotism, 
that the wildest excitement and profoundest con- 
sternation ensued, while men knew not what calam- 
ity would next befall them. They wrung from the 
wrath-paled lips of the betrayed ]N"orth a universal 
howl of execration. Loyal men every-where, on 
hearing of those scandalous deeds, almost lost control 
of themselves. They grew furious with rage in con- 
templating the enormity of the crime. Its atrocity 
finds no parallel in the history of civilized or savage 
nations. The cold-blooded butcheries of the Aus- 
trian tyrant, Haynau, become respectable when 
compared with the butcheries of Pratt Street. 
IN'one but secessionists could have become suffi- 
ciently cruel, or so lost to all sense of honor, as to 
perpetrate such a damning outrage. Upon the city 
of Baltimore, with her monuments to liberty and 
the champions of freedom, this murderous assault 
upon peaceable citizens, in transitu, is a bitter, biting 
satire of more than Juvenal severity. 

These dishonoring events occurred on the anni- 
versary of the inauguration of the sanguinary and 
protracted struggle for American independence. 
Just eighty-six years previously the patriot soldiers 
of Massachusetts were massacred in the streets of 
Lexington, precisely as they were murdered upon 
the streets of Baltimore. The blood of both parties, 
on both occasions, was shed by the minions of des- 



120 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

potism, tlie heartless vampires of human freedom. 
These two events, giving epochs to the age in which 
they occurred, are equal in enormity. Between the 
despotisms concerned, however, there is a striking 
difference, but it is decidedly in England's favor. 
The despotism whose minions shed the blood of the 
patriots of Seventy-six is vastly more respectable than 
the despotism whose brutal minions shed the blood 
of the patriots of Sixty-one. The former perpetrated 
those crimes against humanity to defend and per- 
petuate an old and established form of tyranny; 
but the latter imbrued their hands in the best Amer- 
ican blood to destroy one of the best governments 
that ever existed, and to set up a new and infamous 
tyranny — a tyranny to be supported by the wrecks 
of oppressed humanity. 

For several days the city of Baltimore had been 
in the wildest commotion. The vile sediment of 
the city had risen from the bottom to the surface of 
society. " The human vermin, barbarous in the 
midst of civilization, heathen in the midst of Chris- 
tianity," vegetating in the worst polhitions, living in 
the foul cellars and lilthy garrets of Baltimore, had 
crej)t out of their horrid dens at the command of 
treason, and grew into terrible importance. All 
respect for- law and order was laid aside. The law- 
less multitude surrendered themselves to the con- 
trol of the most reckless passions. Yast and angry 
crowds surged and swept along the avenues of the 
city like the waves of the storm-tossed ocean. They 
were alike insensible to shame or reason. To honor 
and decency they were utter strangers, and of the 



BALTIMORE. 121 

coTOtict becoming' men they knew as little as the 
cruel Afghans know of the benign principles of 
Christianity. 

The recent passage of a few Federal troops through 
the city hacl highly exasperated the leading seces- 
sionists of Baltimore. They had sworn to prevent 
its recurrence or perish in the attempt. This could 
be done only by violently resisting all legal, rightful 
authority. But for this they did not care, nor did 
they shrink from incurring such a fearful responsi- 
bility. Alone upon making Baltimore a stronghold 
of treason were they intent, and alone for this did 
they care. For carrying out their nefarious scheme 
they commanded the services of the huge and terri- 
ble mob that then held the city in awe. The leaders 
of this motley horde of villains had received their 
full instructions. The works of treason were in 
progress and about to culminate. The mob was in 
motion. A Confederate flag, the symbol of treason 
and piracy, carried by a secession leader, an affiliated 
*' Plug-ugly," was the rallying point of the despe- 
radoes enlisted in the service of the chivalrous con- 
spirators. Wherever that symbol of treason waved, 
there centered the strength and beauty of secession- 
ism. The savage yells of those who had gathered 
about it frightened the people, and rendered both 
day and night hideous. Unarmed as the patriots 
were, their horrid imprecations upon the Federal 
Government and its friends alarmed them to a con- 
siderable extent. They were helpless and in the 
hands of fiends. The cruel threats of those fiends 
compelled many worthy and loyal citizens to seek 
11 



122 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

safety in flight or in concealment, l^umbers wlio^d 
lived for years in affluence were necessitated, to save 
themselves from outrage or death, to leave their 
homes on foot and penniless. It was an awful period, 
such an one as no other city ever realized. These 
were Baltimore's darkest and most miserable days. 
The mob, as destitute of principle as of kindness, 
encouraged and patronized by prominent officers and 
wealthy citizens, was in the ascendant, and had things 
its own way.'^^ Anarchy reigned in frightful mood. 
Terror was the prevailing emotion of every loyal 
citizen. They knew not at what moment they would 
be immolated to appease the demon of secessionism. 
They could not expect any mercy at the hands of 
the ungovernable rabble, incited to deeds of blood by 
their reputable employers, and urged on by those 
claiming high social distinction and great respecta- 
bility. They knew that if their persons and property 
were respected it would be because of the wholesome 
dread that these murderers still entertained of the old 
government. But through the false idea that it 
must inevitably succumb to tlie Southern rebellion, 
this last, lingering restraint was fast fading away. 
"With every returning hour their insolence and cru- 
elty increased. With every recurring day they be- 
came more of secession fiends and less of loyal 
subjects. Their savage insubordination had reached 

*A very respectable lady, who was living in Baltimore at the 
time of the slaughter of Massachusetts volunteers in ier streets, 
states that gentlemen of wealth and position, who came into dinner 
from the riot, openly boasted of the money they had scattered among 
the rioters, to stimulate them to kill the defenders of their country. 



BALTIMOKE. 123 

its liigliest point. All respect for God and the rights 
of man had been laid aside as a great deformity — a 
weakness. They determined to strike quick, heavy, 
and indiscriminate blows for the Confederacy — for 
the cause of treason. They resolved to arrest in their 
incipient beginnings the efforts of the government at 
Washington to defend itself from the aggressions of 
treason. Those who had already gone through Bal- 
timore to defend the Capital were only hooted, 
anathematized, jeered, stoned, and altogether most 
villainously treated. But by the advice and with 
the consent of the secession aristocracy of the city, 
the? Plug-uglies and other degraded hordes determ- 
ined upon adopting toward all other passing volun- 
teers a more summary and severe process. Lincoln's 
recruits must be stopped at all hazards. If nothing 
else would turn back the patriotic- tide so strongly 
setting in upon the Federal Capital, they must be 
massacred on the streets. The work they had un- 
dertaken had to be performed. 

Such were the feelings and purposes of the seces- 
sionists and their degraded tools, when the Sixth 
Massachusetts arrived at Baltimore, on the 19th of 
April. For the last forty-eight hours the rioters had 
been multiplying by the thousand. They were im- 
pelled by the most unholy passions. Through the 
influence of artificial stimulants that genteel seces- 
sionists knew so well how to apply, these men were 
rendered frightful furies. They acted as if hell had 
disgorged, from its red-hot throat, its most malicious 
and abandoned inmates. Wild, fierce, and cruel, 
they seemed fair and full representatives of the new 



124 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE HMON 

Confederacy struggling into "being amid tlie whirling 
debris of anarchy. The depot at which the Sixth 
landed was surrounded by this maddened, yelling 
multitude. Foaming and glaring tiger-like, they 
were preparing to spring upon their prey. The like 
was never seen on earth, because never had so 
wretched a cause demanded such wicked support- 
ers. These were found in this mob. 

As soon as the Massachusetts Sixth appeared upon 
the platform of the depot, they were greeted with 
furious howls, missiles, and the foulest epithets. 
Leaving the depot,^ the mob surrounded them, hurl- 
ing at them scorn, taunting them with the most 
opiDrobrious names, and assailing them with brick- 
bats and paving-stones. These outrages were pa- 
tiently borne by our patnots. But that very patience 
greatly exasperated the mob. Its leaders earnestly 
sought a collision with the soldiers. Many of the 
assailants were armed and determined to provoke 
them to retaliation, to have a pretext for their whole- 
sale slaughter. During the prevalence of this ter- 
rible storm the Sixth formed in a solid square, with 
its officers and the Mayor at its head, and pressed 
on vigorously toward the "Washington depot. But 
while passing along Pratt Street the storm of passion 
broke out more violently than ever. A shower of 
stones, pieces of iron, brickbats, and other things, 
fell upon them. IS^umbers we^e severely injured, 



*- Accounts differ in regard to the numbers of the regiment that 
were attacked. One authority says that "but two car-loads" were 
assailed. 



BALTIMORE. 125 

while some were felled to tlie ground. The secession ^ 
miscreants hurriedly snatched from our fallen men 
their fire-arms. At this juncture a pistol-shot from 
a window killed one of our men. The ruffian who 
perpetrated this crime was immediately shot by the 
comrade of the fallen hero. This was the signal for 
the general onslaught of the rioters. They discharged 
their fire-arms into the midst of ^the crowded ranks 
of our troops. Up to this time our soldiers had the 
courage to endure all their assaults in silence and 
without resentment. But the attack had gone beyond 
the point of further endurance. They must defend 
themselves or be butchered in detail like cowards. 
Already some of their number were stricken down, 
in death, or disabled with wounds. By the advice 
and with the consent of Mayor Brown, who was 
with them in their terrible passage, they wheeled 
and fired a steady volley into the ranks of the rebel 
assailants. Several of them fell, either killed or 
wounded. This appeared to rouse their fury to 
the highest pitch."^ Again the soldiers were fired 
upon by the crovs^l, and from the windows of dwell- 
ings. "With suitable vigor the intrepid Sixth re- 
turned the insurgents' fire. It told severely upon 
the rebel horde. They were driven to this des- 
perate mode of self-defense and self-preservation 

* At this stage of the fight, a gray-haired man, in his shirt-sleeves, 
rushed out from his shop-door into the midst of the troops, wrested 
a gun from the hands of a young soldier, and killed him with the 
bayonet! Such was the demoniac spirit influencing the Baltimore 
Bccessionists. 



126 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

by the insurgents themselves. It proved efficient. 
The insurgents, coward-like, could not stand thia 
rough and energetic handling. They did not ex- 
pect it. They had been taught to regard the 
Yankees as poltroons, whom nothing could provoke 
into a manly tight. They found the reverse of this 
to be painfully true. With ten of their number 
killed and thirteen wounded, the rebels were content 
to leave our brave men alone. The blood drawn 
from them so cooled their ardor and so depleted 
their courage, that they hurriedly fell back and fol- 
lowed our triumphant men at a respectful and per- 
fectly safe distance. Thus our first victory was 
gained. 

It is self-evident that had iaot the Federal soldiers 
defended themselves in this determined manner 
they would have been decimated or utterly de- 
stroyed. For so doing they deserve the highest 
jDraise, instead of severe censure. Had they tamely 
submitted to their murderers, as some maintain they 
should, they would have deserved and shared in the 
contempt of every patriot. They endured those 
outrages until they discovered that that endurance 
only emboldened their assailants, and that it would 
be death or dishonor to endure longer. They were 
right. They had volunteered to fight their coun- 
try's enemies. Enemies more brutal, dangerous, 
and malignant than these could not be any- where 
found. To rid the country of such vermin, such 
foes, was doing the country one of the greatest 
services. As these Baltimore marauders were the 
avowed enemies of the government, the only fault 



BALTIMORE. 127 

with wliicli our volunteers may be charged is, that 
of withholding their fire so long. Sut they acted 
their difficult part in this tragedy nobly and hero- 
ically. The frightful scenes through which they 
there and then passed were more trying to their 
martial qualities than the awful carnage and fearful 
din of the battle-field. But their courage and pa- 
triotism were equal to the strange and trying cir- 
cumstances with which they were surrounded. 

At length they reached, tired, thirsty, exhausted, 
the Washington depot. But they had left on the 
way two killed and eight wounded, one mortally. 
The bloody contest between freedom and despot- 
ism — equal rights and privileged classes — was thus 
opened with the most gloomy auspices. The future 
was unusually dark and threatening, but they 
nerved themselves to meet that future with becom- 
ing manhood. It was clearly seen that the struggle 
was to be one of no ordinary intensity and bitter- 
ness, and that liberty could be sustained and perpet- 
uated only through a desperate and bloody conflict 
of arms. From the contemplation of this appalling 
picture no patriot shrank for a moment. They were 
determined to boldly grapple with the waves of re- 
bellion as they rolled, in desolation, over the land. 

But the victims had not all escaped. Others were 
to sufi:er from the malignant spirit of secessionism. 
To the illustrious Sixth was attached a brass-band 
of twenty-four members. With their musical in- 
struments they occupied a car by themselves from 
Philadelphia to Baltimore. By some unaccountable 
blunder, or through intentional malice, the car occu- 



128 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

l^ied by the band was switcbed off at Canton Sta- 
tion. Consequently, instead of being the first to 
pass through, they were left in the rear of all the 
others. Here the musicians remained, patiently 
awaiting the tardy movements of the engineer and 
conductor. But these public functionaries never 
appeared. Hours passed away, yet no one came to 
their relief, or to give them the necessary directions. 
After the repulse of the mob by the Massachusetts 
Sixth, many of its most ferocious members returned 
to the Canton depot. Here they found the mem- 
bers of the band, wholly unarmed and unable to 
make any defense. Howling like fiends from the 
pit, these secession demons fell upon them with a 
shower of stones, iron spikes, and other missiles. 
A number of them were severely wounded, and their 
instruments were bent, bruised, and rendered per- 
fectly useless. Some of these villains leaped upon 
the top of the car, and, with a bar of iron, broke a 
hole through the roof. AYhile this was going on, 
others were seeking powder with which to blow 
them all up together. It was a terrible ordeal. 
They had no means of self-defense ; no help was 
near ; their condition was unknown to their friends, 
and all hope of rescue deserted them. Finding that 
an appalling death awaited them if they remained 
in the car, they hurriedly leaped out am.id their foes 
and ran for their lives with the greatest speed. As- 
sailed by a shower of stones, they bravely fought 
their way through the crowd of fiends. They ran 
at random. Being strangers in the city, they knew 
not which way to go. Shelter from the bruising, 



BALTIMORE. 129 

mangling missiles of their assailants was what they 
sought. But where to find it they knew not. 

They pressed on, however, with the secession 
blood-hounds at their heels. Hurrying along one 
of the streets, a rough-looking man sprung out be- 
fore them, exclaiming : " This way, boys ; this way." 
This was the first friendly voice that they had heard 
since they landed. They paused not to ask ques- 
tions, but imhesitatingly followed their strong, rug- 
ged guide. He Conducted them up a narrow court, 
at the extremity of which they found an 023en door, 
through which they rushed. Here they were met 
by a powerful-looking woman. She grasped them 
by the hand, and hurried them up the stairs. The 
last of their number, just as he entered the passage, 
was knocked senseless by a stone thrown by a satel- 
lite of Jefi:". Davis. He was instantly caught up by 
the lady who had so cordially welcomed and gener- 
ously sheltered the others, and carried in her arms 
up to his comrades. " You are perfectly safe here, 
boys !" said the noble woman. She then proceeded 
to wash and bind up their wounds and bruises. 

Having completed this generous service, she pro- 
cured them an abundance of nourishment, of which 
they were in great need. Then she had them re- 
move their uniforms and put on citizens' clothes. 
Equipped in ragged coats, torn trowsers, and blaize 
jackets, they started out in search of the immortal 
Sixth Regiment. In these citizens' clothes they 
were in no danger of an attack from the mob. 
They were perfectly disguised. Having learned the 
particulars of the brutal attack upon their comrades, 



130 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMON. 

they returned to the house at which they had been 
so humanely treated. They found that their clothes 
and battered instruments had been carefully tied up 
and sent to the depot of the Philadelphia Railway. 
To this depot they were advised to immediately go, 
and get back to Philadelphia as speedily as possible. 
This they readily did. They felt that they could 
trust the good sense and take the advice of their 
benefactress. She had saved their lives. She had 
endangered herself by the rescue m strangers. She 
was entitled to their confidence as well as to their 
gratitude. 

]^oble woman ! It was quite evident that she did 
not belong to the aristocracv. It was evident that 
contact with the vile institution of slavery had not 
hardened her heart, nor transformed her into a mon- 
ster, as was the case with thousands of others. She 
belonged to the laboring class. Her heart was 
whole; she yet had some humanity. Again I re- 
peat, I^oble woman ! Her deeds will be recorded 
by the side of the most heroic achievements of 
women. Had not these unarmed musicians found 
that asylum, they would have all miserably perished 
at the hands of the secession vandals. She and her 
noble husband interposed a helping hand, and gen- 
erously saved them. 

In Baltimore fell the first of the thousands of vic- 
tims to Southern pride and Southern imbecility. 
Andrew Hollins and Keenan were murdered out- 
right upon the spot. Asa IlTeedham, Michael Green, 
D. B. Tyler, E. Calvin, H. W. Danforth, Wm. Patch, 
and three others were more or less severely wounded. 



BALTIMORE. 131 

Several of tliese subsequently died from tlie injuries 
received. These are the noble fellows who first felt 
the cruel animus of hated secession ism. Their sad 
fate forcibly symbolized the mournful destiny await- 
ing the loyal portion of the United States if the 
conspirators were successful. For nothing could we 
hope, for every thing had we to fear, if we resisted 
not. 

As the first sacrifice ofiered to the greedy Moloch 
of secessionism, the names of these young heroes 
should be chiseled high upon the Colossus of na- 
tional fame. They baptized and rendered more sa- 
cred with their life-blood the cause with which they 
were identified and that is so dear to us. Their 
names stand first upon the long list of n^artyrs for 
the liberty of our country — victims of the Medusa 
of African slavery. 

Massachusetts was not insensible of the magni- 
tude of the event, nor indifterent to the claims of 
her fallen heroes upon her sympathy and public rec- 
ognition. The intelligence of the brutal butchery 
of her children filled her with the greatest gloom, 
and aroused in her citizens a spirit as fearfully 
grand in its purposes as that which gave us the sub- 
lime history of Bunker Hill. The patriotism of the 
great Bay State was thoroughly set on fire by the 
terrible scenes of Pratt Street. With the warm, 
fresh blood of her murdered sons she w^rote the 
sure destiny of the Southern Confederacy. She 
would not rest from her exertions until all who sym- 
pathized with the spirit that murdered her citizens 
were exterminated or reduced to befitting subjec- 



132 THE HEUOES OE THE WAR FOE THE UNION. 

tlon. The blood of tliese volunteers, sprinkled over 
the rich soil of their native state, produced an army 
of giants. It was an unfortunate day's work for the 
rebellious South. 

The state government hastened to take charge 
of and perform the funeral obsequies for her mar- 
tyred volunteer soldiery. Governor Andrew wrote 
to the ^layor of Baltimore in the most touching 
strains, and as pathetically lamented the mournful 
death of these young men as if they had been his 
own sons. Mayor Brown was requested to take 
special care and preserve the bodies of the noble 
dead in ice, and send them forward to Boston with 
the greatest tenderness. Massachusetts profound]y 
mourned for her dead patriots, and showed her at- 
tachment to their memory and her appreciation of 
their valor by the magnificent manner in which she 
deposited them in their last resting-place. Tens of 
thousands honored the memory of these murdered 
patriots by following their bodies to their sepulcher, 
and mino-linsr their tears with those of the bereaved 
and stricken families of which they had been mem- 
bers and ornaments. 

One of the two patriot soldiers who fell at the 
hands of the secession mob of Baltimore was a fine- 
looking, delicately-reared, but spirited lad of about 
eighteen years. After receiving his death-wound, a 
noble Union lady had him carried into her superb 
residence. To all his wants she kindly, tenderly 
ministered while he lived. She did all she could to 
fill his mother's place, and the young hero felt the 
bitterness of dying from home much mitigated by 



BALTIMORE. 133 

her presence, kindness, and smiles. Thus he was 
consoled in his last honrs by her delicate attentions, 
and lulled into his last sleep by the sweet memories 
of the scenes of his childhood's home. 

" What induced you, so young, so tender, so deli- 
cately reared, to leave your mother and your home ?" 
asked the kind lady of the dying soldier. 

He looked up into her face ; the old fire came 
back for a moment into his death-dimmed eyes ; the 
deep color returned to his pallid lips ; and, raising 
his feeble arm, pointing to the flag that he saw, 
waving on an adjoining building, through the win- 
dow, whispered, "The 'Stars and Stripes' brought 
m.e here I" I^obly, bravely answered ! His patriot- 
ism was of the purest kind. The brave spirit of 
the lYarrens, Putnams, and Starks animated his 
soul, and impelled him to the scenes of martial 
strife. The Stars and Stripes were the symbol of 
all that he held dear and desirable. He felt that his 
home and wealth, without freedom and honor, 
would be a burning curse. To aid in perpetuating 
that freedom, and to secure that honor, he forsook 
the delicacies and endearments of home and fol- 
lowed the flag of his country ! Young as he was, 
no regret at his early death fell from his lips. He 
felt that it was glorious to die in such a cause, as- 
sailed by such enemies. Such are the men, their 
courage, their patriotism, and their devotion, to 
whom the nation intrusted its life and its honor. 

Those who remained of the Si-xth Massachusetts, 
having reached the Washington depot, entered and 
occupied the cars, and were soon whirling away to 



134 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the beleaguered metropolis. Thus ended this fearful 
tragedy. Our troops were safe, and at an early pe- 
riod their bayonets gleamed around the I^ational 
Capital. 

But quiet and security, with the escape of the 
Sixth, did not return to Baltimore. The. city was 
wholly in the hands of the savage mob. It had 
tasted the luxury of power, and determined to enjoy 
its good fortune. The horrid spirit of anarchy 
surged through the unfortunate city like the waves 
of an angry sea. The numbers and violence of the 
secession mob continually increased. The dawn of 
the twentieth found the heaving and excited masses 
greatly multiplied. They were worse than ever. 
The taste of loyal blood on the previous day had 
imparted the keenest edge to their appetites. Their 
reckless lawlessness had grown into gigantic pro- 
portions. Yielding to their wicked impulses, they 
were intent upon mischief, bloodshed and pillage. 

At an early hour on this morning the secession- 
ists assembled in great numbers at Canton Station, 
in the suburbs of the city. Their aspect was threat- 
ening and their mien defiant. They were awaiting 
the train from Philadelphia, on which they expected 
a number of Federal soldiers. When the train ar- 
rived, on ascertaining that it carried no troops, they 
fired upon the engineer and detained the cars. The 
passengers were compelled to alight ; then, entering 
the cars themselves, they necessitated the engineer 
to carry them back to Gunpowder bridge. Here 
they commenced the work of destruction. The 
bridge was immediately set on fire, and they howled 



BALTIMORE. 135 

around it till nearly consumed. From tlience tliey 
proceeded back to the Rush River bridge. This 
fine and costly structure shared the fate of the one 
already mentioned. From thence, with the shrieks 
of furies, they returned to Canton, and burned the 
splendid bridge at that place. To prevent Federal 
troops from passing through the city, they destroyed 
the finest improvements in its immediate neighbor- 
hood, and isolated themselves from the commercial 
world. But those engaged in the work of desolation 
had no interest in the commerce they were destroy- 
ing. They were not likely, therefore, to sufier from 
the ills they were bringing upon the city, as they 
had nothing to lose. 

While these things were transpiring without, 
events equally revolutionary in tendency, and de- 
structive of all order, were transpiring within the 
Monumental City. They were preparing, under the 
leadership of Marshal Kane and the Police Commis- 
sioners, for darker deeds and greater villainies. 
From all directions secessionists were flocking into 
the city, and rallying beneath the secession standard. 
Fully armed, they entered the city in pairs, squads, 
and companies ; as infantry and cavalry they thronged 
the streets of the doomed place. 

But they knew not the reasons for their conduct. 
Consequently, they were the more dangerous, and 
the greater were the apprehensions of the loyal. All 
they knew about the matter was, that it was said 
Maryland was invaded by the " mercenaries of Lin- 
coln," and that the existence and the honor of the 
state were alike endangered. Hence, without being 



136 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

able to compreliend the situation of affairs or assign a 
reason for their conduct, they felt it to be their duty 
to stand by their commonwealth. Their lives, and 
especially their negroes, were believed to be in great 
danger. This was enough. Their hot blood was 
up. Their local prejudices, stronger than life and 
bitterer than death, held them in bondage more ab- 
ject than the bondage in which they held their 
slaves. To the blind control of these prejudices 
they fully surrendered themselves. They were dan- 
gerous in proportion to their unreasoning ignorance 
and the strength of their peculiar notions. From 
their presence the worst was to be apprehended. 
Designated by secession badges upon their breasts, 
there was no mistaking the animus with which they 
were filled and by which they were impelled. Eager 
to display their courage, they brandished their guns, 
pistols, and knives in the faces of the people. 

ISTight now curtained in a vast, angry, and unman- 
ageable multitude. It proved a period of intense 
anxiety. It was feared that, taking advantage of 
the darkness, the unscrupulous, poor, and rapacious 
thousands composing the mob would unbridle their 
passions and indulge them at the expense of the 
quiet and loyal citizens, that the city would be fired, 
and that indiscriminate robbery would be commit- 
ted. But, fortunately for Baltimore, there was a 
sufficient number from the country, vastly above the 
commission of such deeds of rapine, to restrain the 
more unprincipled and turbulent. Thus special acts 
of crime were prevented. 

That night of horror at length ended. The dark 



BALTIMORE. 137 

covering for the deeds of villainy liad disappeared. 
The light of the tioenty-first revealed the city still in 
the possession of the secession mob. Its numbers 
had been augmented during the night. The excite- 
ment had risen to an unparalleled hight. The re- 
spectable leaders of the mob, to be seen only in the 
background of the picture, employed every means 
to stimulate the fiery natures of the marauders. In 
the hands of nearly all secessionists deadly weapons 
were to be seen. They were armed as if about to 
be assailed by hordes of barbarians. Yet they were 
the only barbarians to be feared. All the buildings 
along the railways were supplied with muskets, pis- 
tols, and even small cannon. 

How these arms had been secured, or where they 
came from, occasioned the greatest wonder to the 
loyal people. But subsequent events clearly solved 
the problem. For such an event the leading seces- 
sionists had been preparing for months. At their 
head was Mr. Kane, Marshal of the city and head 
of the police. He employed his great oflice to ad- 
vance the insurgent cause, and degraded himself 
into a drudge of the South. He industriously accu- 
mulated arms and ammunition to be employed 
against the Federal Government.* He was deeply 



* Marshal Kane occupied the City Hall as his office as Marshal of 
Police. After our troops took the city they examined this building 
and found deposited in it the following articles: 

Two six-pound iron guns, two four-pound iron guns, one-half tiiu 
assorted shot, one-half keg shot for steam-gun, one hundred and 
twenty flint-muskets, fovty-six rifles, three double-barreled shot-guns, 
eight single-barreled shot-guns, nine horse-pistols, sixty-five small 

12 



138 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

involved in the revolt of Baltimore. Few darker, 
more malignant, and more unscrnpnlous men have 
appeared upon the surface of society during our na- 
tional troubles than Mr. Kane. He was the guiltiest 
of the guilty — the worst of the many bad, bold men 
identified with the Southern rebellion. In the esti- 
mation of the loyal he was the most odious of 
men.'^ 

The Sabbath morning was employed in enlisting, 
organizing, and drilling companies, to be hurled 
against the troops of the Federal Government. 
"While this was taking place the crowd grew denser 
and the excitement ran higher than ever. Its intens- 
ity swept every thing before it. 

pistols, one Imndred and thirty-two bullet-molds, eight dirk-knives, 
five swords, eight kettle-drums, one lot of screw-drivers, twelve old 
muskets, twenty-tive Minie muskets, forty-six Hall's carbines, forty- 
eight thousand percussion-caps, and thousands of cartridges, with 
other things essential to the outfit of an army. Many of these 
things Avere labeled, " From Fort Sumter to Col. Kane." The best of 
these arms and some of the ammunition were recognized as part 
of those taken from the baggage-car of the Sixth Massachusetts oa 
the 19 th of April. 

* The following incident will illustrate this: General Cadwalla- 
der was passing through the camp, at Fort McHenry, arm in arm 
with the traitor, INIarshal Kane. As they passed a squad of the Third 
Battalion of Massachusetts Infantry, Orderly-Sergeant Starr called 
out, "Three cheers for the General, but none for Kane!" The Gen- 
eral demanded, "Who did that?" To this inquiry Sergeant Starr 
responded promptly. Then General Cadwallader asked if there 
were any others in the squad who indorsed the call, when every man 
stepped to the front! General Cadwallader had Starr arrested, 
but was compelled, by the popular indignation that the deed excited, 
to release him. The boys of Massachusetts remembered the 19th of 
April and Kane's infamy. 



BALTIMORE. 139 

The secessionists expected that the !N"ew York 
Seventh, a brave, superb, and splendid regiment, 
that was on its way to Washington, would at- 
tempt to pass through the city on that day. Its 
appearance was awaited with the most savage im- 
patience. The spirit of lawless secessionism had 
grown to be so fierce, confident, and insolent, that 
had the Seventh attempted to pass through Bal- 
timo^, it w^ould have been assailed on every hand, 
from every direction, and by every species of weap- 
on. It would have been girdled with a terrible 
fire. But it would have cut its way through, and 
piled up the rebel dead upon the streets by scores. 
It was amply prepared to grapple with a force vastly 
larger than itself. It was excellently drilled ; it was 
composed of the best and bravest men from the 
great city of I^ew York. It would have gone 
through, or left every one of its members dead upon 
the streets of the city. The frantic, undisciplined 
horde of secessionists knew this, yet it proposed at- 
tacking the formidable Seventh u23on its arrival. 
The mob hoped to crush it by the sheer weight of 
numbers. Hence, these demons in human form im- 
patiently awaited the nevrs of the arrival of this 
bold and fearless regiment. Fortunately for Balti- 
more, it was ordered by the way of Annapolis. 

As these secession malignants had cut the wire of 
the telegraph to 'New York, they knew but little of 
what was transpiring in the outer world. This fact, 
with the exaggerated rumors that floated from lip 
to lip, almost maddened them. The uncertainty 
• with which every thing outside of the city was 



140 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

ensliroudcd imparted to tliem tlieir fiercest impulses. 
They imiagined a thousand things that had no exist- 
ence but in their excited minds. They were swayed 
by the creations of their own fancies to a greater 
extent than by the events occurring about them. 

The police deeply sympathized with the secession 
rioters. Indeed, they formed a prominent part of the 
disorderly masses. Kane would do nothing to allay 
the storm, but every thing to foment it. He^ pub- 
licly expressed his sympathy wdth the rebels, and 
openly avowed his purpose to advance their inter- 
ests. Thus the great mob had all the authority for 
its conduct that it wanted. The police and the 
chief of police w^ere with it. 

Despairing of rescuing the city from the hands of 
the mob while there was reason to expect the pas- 
sage of Federal troops through it, Mayor Brown and 
a committee of citizens left Baltimore for Washing- 
ton, in the midst of the wildest tumult. They im- 
mediately called upon and had an interview with 
the President^ They urged him to select some 
other route for the transportation of troops to the 
Capital. After mature reflection, Mr. Lincoln agreed 
that, for the present, no more troops should pass 
through the city, though he positively refused to 
relinquish his right to do so whenever he thought it 
best. 

While these important negotiations were pending 
in Washington, the mob was carrying every thing 
with a high hand in Baltimore. Intelligence reached 
the city that three thousand Pennsylvania troops 
were at Pikeville, fifteen miles off, and that they 



BALTIMORE. 141 

were going to pass through the city on their way to 
"Washington. This intelligence stirred the foul 
masses to the utmost depth. The city presented a 
scene as wild, frightful, and tumultuous as if heing 
sacked by a victorious army. Under the direction 
of Marshal Kane hundreds were sent out to m.eet 
and repel the "Lincoln invaders. '^ On horseback, 
in wagons, in carriages, and on foot, the belligerents 
pressed out upon Pikeville and the obnoxious three 
thousand. On arriving at Pikeville they found that 
the disturbing element had gone — their victims had 
once more eluded their vigilance, and escaped the 
terrible death with which they were threatened. 
This anomalous state of things was explained by a 
dispatch from Mayor Brown in Washington to Mar- 
shal Kane in Baltimore. To spare needless blood- 
shed, and to save the city from ruin, the Presi- 
dent had ordered the three thousand back to Har- 
risburg. This, with the agreement that no other 
troops would, for the present, be carried through 
Baltimore, left the mob without an excuse for its 
continuance, and stripped it of its source of power. 
The excitement began immediately to subside. As 
there was now no fuel to feed the fire, the flames 
naturally died out. A comparative calm immediately 
followed the great storm that rocked the city to its 
very center. 

The prudence, foresight, and magnanimity of Mr. 
Lincoln saved the city from a fate, the contempla- 
tion of which induces a shudder, and the people 
from inevitable ruin. It necessarily required a great 
effort on his part to consent to' have his authority 



142 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIST. 

ignored and trampled on while attempting to save 
the government with which he had been intrusted. 
But the effort, however galling to the feeUngs of tlie 
Chief Magistrate, was put fortli in a manly way. 
ISTor did he suffer in the confidence of the people by 
the act. He could await his time to curb the, rest- 
less and malignant spirits of Baltimore. Though 
lie relinquished the route through Baltimore, he did 
not relinquish his design of placing the Capital of 
the nation upon a secure war footing. Troops were 
rapidly collected about Washington, and the pur- 
poses of the secessionists were frustrated and their 
plans defeated. The President's self-denial has 
borne ample fruit of the most agreeable character. 
Maryland has been kept in the Union, and has no- 
bly aided in the work of suppressing the rebellion. 
Had harsh measures been adopted, as at one time 
Beemed probable, she would have been lost to us, 
and utterly ruined by being made the theater of 
war. To the noble forbearance of Mr. Lincoln is 
she indebted for her security and prosperity. 
Though the surrender of the right of the nation to 
pass through one^of her cities cost him much, yet 
his conduct in that critical hour will be regarded 
as the most magnanimous of his whole life, and 
remembered with affectionate gratitude. He spoke 
to the storm, and it was hushed into quiet. He 
temporarily relinquished a single right, and thus 
saved many others to the whole future. 

The mob that had ruled in and came near ruining 
Baltimore had distinguished indorsers. From prom- 
inent official and aristocratic citizens, with greater 



BALTIMOEE. 143 

secession proclivities tlian courage, these worse tlian 
homicides received efficient aid and comfort. For 
their atrocious work they were warmly eulogized 
and liberally compensated. These refined and das- 
tardly traitors would not murder Federal soldiers 
themselves, hut they rewarded and protected those 
who did. The former were the real murderers, the 
villainous instigators of the crime ; the latter, their 
tools, ready to serve any master who paid them well. 
From the deep, damning guilt of these infamous 
deeds never will those proud, fierce, soft-handed, 
and hard-hearted men escape. It will cling to them 
like a haunting specter — like a threatening ghost. 
That which aggravates the offense to the greatest 
extent is, the most loyal and innocent were the 
greatest sufierers. Baltimore may again grow pros- 
perous in commerce, and finally become great in 
wealth and intelligence, but, nevertheless, the inflex- 
ible finger of History will point her out as the only 
city in which the patriots of Sixty-one were massa- 
cred. She never can wholly recover from the odium 
of murdering, in cold blood, the defenders of our 
only hope, the Union. 

Of Baltimore patriots can never think as favorably 
as they did before the occurrence of that horrid 
event. They see the bleeding, mangled, and insulted 
bodies of their brethren surrounded by an unpitying, 
jeering, and yelling mob of Baltimore citizens. This 
dishonoring and frightful picture can not be con- 
cealed nor obliterated. A few ^N'orthern things, such 
as the infamous Vallandigham, the traitorous Pen- 
dleton, and the dirt-eating Cox, the persistent wooers 



144 THE HEROES OF THE WAK FOR THE UNION. 

of tlie Soiitliern Diilcinea, ma}^ coiitemplate tlie trag- 
edy of Pratt Street with indifference, or even with 
agreeable emotions, but it is the reverse of this with 
every man and every patriot. The fierce exaspera- 
tion produced by the reign of terror in the Monu- 
mental City will not wholly subside for years. It 
transformed citizens into avenging soldiers by the 
thousand. After the events of the 19th of April, 
Pennsylvania herself offered more than the number 
of volunteers called for by the President. More 
than a million of men sprang to arms, ready to 
march upon Baltimore and lay her in ashes. This 
was not to be wondered at. The crime of which she 
was guilty was of such unparalleled turpitude, and 
of such appalling proportions, that the most stolid 
could not contemplate it without experiencing the 
deepest and most varied emotions. It is not to be 
wondered at that the rallying cry for a while was, 
"Through Baltimore, or over Baltimore!"^ 

'■■■ This feeling is forcibly represented by the following scene said 
to have taken place in New York : 

Colonel Wilson's "Union Battalion of Zouaves" met in Tammany 
Hall. Of the battalion there were 861 men present. The men were 
ranged round the hall three deep, with Colonel Wilson and the offi- 
cers in the center of the room. They were armed with long knives, 
revolvers, and Minie rifles. Colonel Wilson, with a drawn saber in 
one hand and the American flag in the other, addressed his meu 
amid deafening cheers. Then he called upon all to kneel and swear 
with him. After administering the oath of fidelity, he said that ho 
would lead them through Baltimore, and that they would march 
through it or die. At this they all arose with a tremendous yell, 
flung up their hats, and brandished their glittering knives amid pro- 
longed and frantic cheers. He then denounced death to Baltimore 
traitors and Plug-uglies, and said they would leave a monument of 



BALTIMORE. 145 

The indignant masses could hardly be restrained 
from taking signal vengeance, at once, upon the 
blood-stained city. But soon the better feelings of 
their natures gained the ascendency, and conducted 
them to more rational and humane conclusions. 
They knew that the secessionists were alone guilty 
of shedding innocent blood, and that the majority of 
her citizens were loyal to the Federal Government 
and true to freedom, but that they had been, for the 
time being, overpowered by the mob that treason 
had called into being. They pitied the many loyal 
who had been involved in such guilt by the folly and 
wickedness of the disloyal few. The storm of indig- 
nation swept harmlessly by, succeeded by the pro- 
foundest grief for the victims of secession cruelty. 

The loyal people of the ]tTorth beheld, with alarm, 
the existence of such a nefarious spirit in the in- 
surgents as the sanguinary events of the 19th of 
April, and kindred days in Baltimore, exhibited. 
They were not long in arriving at the conclusion 
that the rebellion must be immediately crushed out, 
or that they must forever bid adieu to the inherit- 
ance secured to them by the blood of their ancestors. 
There was no hesitancy in regard to the course to 



their bones in the streets of Baltimore. Amid yells of "Death to 
Plug-uglies!" he illustrated with his sword how they would hew their 
way, and said, though he should be the first one slain, he had but one 
thing to ask — that his men should secure his name and avenge his 
blood. He asked them to swear that they would do this, and a3 
the Colonel moved around, shouting to them to swear, they responded, 
"Blood," " blood," " blood," and, " We swear." It was both a grand 
and terrible scene. 

13 



146 THE HEROES OF THE WAR EOR THE UNION. 

be pursued. They vastly preferred the loss of tlieir 
lives and their property to the loss of their liberty. 

Throughout that fearful week the insurgent flag 
waved over and disfigured the dishonored city. But 
these flags became eloquent champions against the 
treason of which they were tlie ofiensive symbol. 
The infamy of their presence became insupportable 
to the loyal citizens. They determined to trail them 
in the dust. 

But while these citizens were gathering strength 
'for the struggle with treason that was being inau- 
gurated, and were accumulating arms and ammuni- 
tion, the great General Butler, at the head of a 
thousand brave men, in the deepening twilight of 
the closing day, unexpectedly marched into the heart 
of the city and took her government into his own 
hands. By neither party was General Butler ex- 
pected. The secessionists were taken wholly by 
surprise. They were overwhelmed with consterna- 
tion. They knew that the awful day of reckoning 
had come. They were not ignorant of his inflex- 
ible severity. AYhat could they do ? They w^ere 
disorganized, and the most of them were quietly 
enjoying the fruits of their plundering. Besistance 
was out of the question, while submission was utter 
ruin. The bold and insolent rebel w^as suddenly 
changed into a cringing and sneaking coward, alone 
anxious to save his neck from the halter he had 
placed arou2id it. 

General Butler was master of the city in an hour 
after he had entered it. It was a bold adventure 
with only a handful of troops, but entire success 



BALTIMORE. 147 

vindicates it from the charge of hardihood. The 
rebel triumph was short-lived. The sj^mbol of 
treason quickly disappeared from the whole city, 
and the good old flag resumed its accustomed place 
in the city of Baltimore. When given to the breeze 
its appearance was hailed with shouts and tears. 
The rebel efforts to secure the control of Baltimore 
and its commercial advantages proved the death of 
secessionism in Baltimore. Since then the powerful 
hand of the Federal Government, on the ruin of 
which the rebels had been congratuhiting themselves, 
and that, in its supposed weakness, they had treated 
with so much contempt, has kept the monster down. 
Baltimore soon became a loyal city, with the ex- 
ception of the wealthy, foolish, and ignorant few. 
Her citizens are perfectly satisfied with their expe- 
rience of the few days of rebel rule. They are per- 
fectly contented to remain under the sheltering folds 
of the Stars and Stripes. To General Butler, more 
than to all others, are we indebted for the present 
status of Baltimore. 



148 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE IJITrON. 



CHAPTER Y. 

ELLSWORTH. 

NOTHZN'G seems truer than tliat ^' death loves a 
shining mark.'' Though none are spared, or 
wholly escape its ravages, yet the most gifted often 
fall the earliest, and those wdio bid fair for useful 
lives droop the soonest. To us this is inscrutably 
mysterious. Like the best and most delicately fla- 
vored fruit, the first matured, the most talented are 
frequently the speediest in making the circle of 
human life. Often the most gifted, the most pa- 
triotic, and the most chivalrous are nipped by the 
frost of death just as they appear to enter ujDon a 
successful and distinguished career. The instructive 
and elegant writer is the first of his class to lay 
dowm his pen forever. The eloquent statesman, true 
to his constituents and devoted to the weal of his 
country, vacates his seat in the legislative halls wdien 
his country most needs his service. The drone and 
the demagogue remain, feeding, vampire-like, upon 
the national treasury, until they grow gray with 
years, and notorious for greediness. The brave and 
fearless soldier upon the field of battle is generally 
the first to fall, because foremost in assailing the 
enemy. Such a soldier was the subject of this paper. 
Colonel EUsw^orth had hardly attained to his major- 
ity when he went dowm at the head of his regiment. 



ELLSWOKTH. 149 

Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth, a citizen of the 
State of I^ew York, was born in Mechanicsville, 
April 23, 1837, of poor but respectable parents. 
Unable to give him wealth, they bequeathed to him 
that which was infinitely better. They diligently 
instilled into his young mind the truest and most 
manly sentiments, and deposited in his heart germs 
of the most manly principles. This was the most 
valuable of legacies — vastly better than gold or sil- 
ver. They prepared him to successfully play his 
part of the life-drama in this great, cold, heartless, 
and fickle world. They taught him how to avoid the 
breakers of Scylla and the rocks of Charybdis. To 
his future the lessons of his parents were every thing. 

Of the early years of this distinguished young man 
comparatively little is known. Yet it is certain that 
in these budding seasons the full foundation of his 
subsequently developed powers was laid. In this 
fresh and vigorous period the seeds of truth were 
sown that yielded so superior a harvest. That these 
early, important, and shaping years were not lost 
nor thrown away, as is too often the case, there can 
be no doubt. He was under the guidance and shared 
in the solicitude of a mother all alive to the upright 
conduct and success of his future.* From under her 



••'•He held his last interview with his parents at the Astor House, 
just before leaving with his regiment for Washington. It was a 
touching scene, 

"I hope God will take care of you, Elmer," said his mother, as 
she pressed him to her heart for the last time. 

"He will take care of me, mother," the Colonel replied. "He has 
led me in this work, and he will take care of me." 



150 THE HEBOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOm 

powerful and molding hand lie could not have come 
without receiving profound and salutary impressions. 

At a suitable age he was sent to the common 
school of the district in which his parents resided. 
This was the only school to which he was sent. It 
was, however, the best of its class. Here the pri- 
mary branches of an English education were taught. 
From it young Elmer emerged to launch out upon 
the active and busy world. His student days were 
ended thus early, but not the progress of his educa- 
tion. This rapidly went on. 

While attending this school he did not rise above 
his associates of ordinary ability. He did not dis- 
tinguish himself by hastily mastering his lessons or 
outstripping his classmates. In the ordinary routine 
of study he plodded slowly, surely, and contentedly 
along. What he then learned was durably retained, 
and proved of the greatest utility to him in after 
years. It gave him a fulcrum on which to place his 
lever. 

But there were noble things, honorable and excel- 
lent deeds, for which he was distinguished quite 
early in life. To his parents' control he was sub- 
missive to a most notable and commendable extent, 
while under their roof, and ever afterward he rev- 
erentially listened to their counsels. His bold and 
adventurous spirit never betrayed him into the 
least insubordination or insolence. So hearty and 
cordial was his acquiescence in the parental sway, 
that the good and discerning regarded it as portend- 
ing an illustrious career. So true is it that sub- 
mission to j)arental control precedes all success in 



ELLSWORTH. 151 

life, it is not strange tliat those wlio knew him 
should so regard this distinguishing trait of char- 
acter. The blighting mildew of Heaven rests upon 
the insolent, insubordinate, and unloving son. 

At an early period he became a voracious reader. 
"While other boys of his own age were squandering 
much of their time in worse than idle amusements, 
young Ellsworth would be found poring over 
the pages of some instructive history. With the 
greatest avidity and the highest pleasure he perused 
all the books he could command relating to wars, 
insurrections, revolutions, and kindred subjects. He 
never wearied of such labor. His zeal in the pur- 
suit of knowledge was quenchless, and his ardor 
irrepressible. Even at this period he moved along 
as a conqueror. In this v^ay he stored away in his 
capacious mind that knowledge which was of the 
greatest value to him in the line of duty to which 
he was subsequently called. It proved to be his 
burnished armor in the great conflict of life. He 
always wore it with unsullied beauty. 

A little later in life he became passionately fond 
of athletic games and amusements. With the agility 
of the leopard, he possessed great muscular strength. 
His body was of faultless symmetry, and of an 
excellent bight. Its evident structure, his every 
movement, and the acuteness of his sensibilities, 
conclusively demonstrated that he was designed for 
a life of vigorous activity. Indeed, all his tastes ran 
in this direction, and he was most at home in that 
where he could be most active. At this period he 
fully surrendered himself to the custody and control 



152 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNI0I7. 

of his natural aptitudes, and was never more de- 
lighted than when engaged in sports or games re- 
quiring a quick eye and a supple limb. In these 
exercises he far outstripped all his associates, which 
gave him a marked ascendency over them. AYhile 
these health-giving amusements kept him from being 
drawn into practices " that drown men's souls in 
perdition," they also developed his physical capabil- 
ities to the greatest extent. In this manner he ac- 
quired the ability to endure that beneath which 
many others would have sunk down exhausted. 
Ordinarily to fatigue he was an entire stranger. 
Like the charity scholar of Brienne, he continued 
fresh and vigorous while his companions in effort 
were panting from fatigue and exhaustion. Thus 
nature, as if predetermined to place him in a com- 
manding and responsible station in the unknown 
future, requiring the most masterly powers, was pre- 
paring the young athlete for the great struggle in 
the presence of a gazing world, before which he was 
so soon called to appear. 

Like all truly noble minds, he always espoused 
the cause of the weak and oppressed. His manly, 
frank, and generous nature would not suffer him to 
coldly look on when the feeble were abused. In all 
instances, and on all such occasions, he proved him- 
self the champion of right and humanity. It is the 
cowardly alone who bully and outrage the weaker 
party. The man of true courage, like young Elmer, 
scorns the perpetration of so mean an act. With 
the deepest loathing Ellsworth turned away from 
such as would stoop to the commission of so das- 



ELLSWORTH. 153 

tardly a deed. He inaugurated liis generous career 
bj placing himself between the brutal school-bully 
and the timid, shrinking scholar. This Wi\s an ex- 
cellent work. From this auspicious beginning he 
never swerved for a moment throughout his eventful 
life. From his benignant countenance the despair- 
ing drew the inspiration of hope, and the tenderness 
that beamed from his mild blue eye kindled confi- 
dence in the sinking soul. The clouds of discontent 
were scattered by the wave of his genial hand. 

As his parents were in but moderate circumstances 
he determined to take care of himself at a period 
when most young men have not thought of such a 
thing, and when but few are preparing for it. As 
his proud, independent nature could not brook the 
idea of an indebtedness to others for the comforts of 
life, he resolved to supply his own necessities, and 
shape his own destiny. This brave act was in per- 
fect accordance with the brave and magnanimous 
deeds of an entire lifetime. Had he, at this early 
period, sunk into the indolence of a dependent, the 
picture of such mental and moral splendor, executed 
by himself soon after the inauguration of the rebell- 
ion, would be wholly wanting in the national picture- 
gallery. But he launched out upon the turbid and 
agitated life-stream, and the picture is there. 

Having acted for a short time as clerk in a dry- 
goods store, he selected the art of imnting for his 
future vocation. For this purpose he entered a 
printing establishment in Boston, the old Puritan 
city. Here he pursued his business with his usual 
ardor and avidity. In this employment he found 



154 THE HEROES OE THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the means for developing both his mechanical skill 
and mental powers. Ko means at all calcuLated to 
fit him for the great contest upon which he was 
about entering were neglected. To become opalent 
in knowledge and benevolent acts seemed the hight 
of his ambition. 

Having labored for some time in Boston, westward 
he bent his buoyant steps. In the great West a 
wider and more inviting field for the employment of 
his rare powers presented itself to his enthusiastic 
mind. With a light and cheerful heart he entered 
upon the prosecution of his mission to the Western 
people. As a printer he toiled on until a more im- 
portant, useful, and congenial channel of human 
activities opened up before him. 

Conscious that his present pursuits repressed his 
ardor, and hampered the development of his tastes, 
he sought a position in the Regular Army. He had 
keen military tastes, strong military talents, and 
powerful military aspirations. A soldier was his 
heau ideal of a man, and to be a successful soldier 
in the defense and support of a republic was, in his 
estimation, the acme of felicity. He intensely desired 
to secure distinction as a patriot. He felt that for no 
profession was he so well qualified by natural en- 
dowments and inclination as for the profession of 
arms, and that in no way could he serve his beloved 
country so well as when in the army. 

For the realization of his manly aspirations he 
applied to the War Department, but he applied in 
vain. It was a most unfortunate period in which to 
prefer such a request. Profound peace prevailed at 



ELLSWORTH. 155 

borne and abroad. For an increase of officers no 
special necessity existed. Besides tbis, tbe favorite 
Soutb could furnisb more tban a sufficient supply for 
this department. But as Ellsvrortb could be of no 
use to politicians or political aspirants, and as he 
lacked powerful friends, as well as wealth, to impart 
character and give emphasis to his petition, he failed 
to be admitted into the army. The most formidable 
difficulties lay in his way and around him. Almost 
any other man would have dismissed the subject 
forever from his mind. But young Ellsworth did 
not so act. He carefully measured his difficulties, 
and determined to remove them one by one till all 
were gone, if it required years to complete the task. 
Though he ceased to apply for the situation, he 
labored to be worthy of it, and to make friends by 
a manly course of conduct sufficiently powerful to 
secure him the distinction after which he v\"as in 
pursuit. 

As a temporary barrier separated him from his 
darling profession, he commenced the study of law 
at Chicago. "^^ In this effort to rise above his lowly 
condition, he was so fortunate as to secure the in- 
struction of one of the most distinguished lawyers 
of the city, if not of the entire West. He set about 

"-•■ This portion of Ellsworth's life " was a miracle of endurance and 
fortitude. He read law with great assiduity, and supported himself 
by copying in the hours that should have been devoted to recreation. 
He had no pastimes and very few friends. Not a soul, besides him- 
self and the baker who gave him his daily loaf, knew how he Avas 
living. During all that time he never slept in a bed — never ate 
■with his friends at a social board." — Atlantic 3Ionthly^ July, 1861. 



156 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXIOIS". 

the prosecution of his legal studies with the greatest 
vigor. Diy? difficult, and patience-trying as the 
study was, he pressed on in it with all the fervent 
enthusiasm of an ardent and intrepid nature. His 
fiery energy readily carried him through its most 
intricate parts. He did not pause to bemoan the 
severity of his task ; but, ascertaining its nature and 
extent, he pushed through it with the force of an all- 
conquering will. On no occasion, and for no pretext, 
would he permit other things to divert his mind 
from his legal studies. The great secret of his mar- 
velous success, as it is the secret of the success of 
all great men, was, he did with all his might what- 
ever his hands found to do. He knew how to per- 
severe until actual success crowned his honest efforts. 

Eventually becoming identified with and the head 
of a local military organization in Chicago, he en- 
gaged once more in the study of military tactics. 
Ko employment was more congenial to his nature 
and more agreeable to his tastes than this. He was 
a soldier by intuition, as Benjamin West was an 
artist. Circumstances favoring it, Ellsworth could 
no more avoid being a soldier than young West 
could refrain from painting in his father's garret, 
after being supplied with all the appliances of his 
beautiful art. 

While in this company Ellsworth's military tastes 
and aptitudes were greatly strengthened and extens- 
ively developed. He succeeded where others would 
have failed under similar circumstances. He be- 
came a thoroughly disciplined, a well-drilled soldier. 
He took the greatest pleasure in being exact and 



ELLSWORTH. 157 

expert in his military evolutions. He soon dis- 
tanced all his associates. He was the first in mili- 
tary knowledge in the city. He labored and studied 
with the assiduity of one who had presentiments of 
the future demands to be made upon such attain- 
ments. To a leadership in these things he was 
unanimously assigned. To his guidance all who 
had the least aspiration after military accomplish- 
ments readily submitted themselves. Thus he was 
gradually gaining the position for which nature had 
so amply endowed him. 

During this period of incipient soldiering, Ells- 
worth conceived the grand idea of forming a Zouave 
company, after the original Algerian Zouaves.* 
Preparatory to the reduction of this novel concep- 
tion to- practice, he prepared himself for the w^ork 
by the careful and thorough study of the Zouave 
tactics. Unaided by a living preceptor, he found it 
a Herculean task, but he performed it. That which 
rendered the labor of preparation the more arduous 
and perplexing w^as the work of remodeling and 
adapting the manual to our state of society. By his 
hand the Zouave drill was modernized and im- 
proved. He was not simply an imitator, but an 
originator. Prepared to carry out his favorite 
project in a creditable manner, he raised a Zouave 
company without difficulty. To the drilling and 
disciplining of this company he marshaled all his 
powers and gave his undivided attention. 

* Ellsworth organized the United States Zouave Cadets in Chi- 
cago on the 4th of May, 1859. 



158 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOI^. 

Having completed the drill of tlie original com- 
pany in the Algerine tactics, he enlarged it by nu- 
merous additional recruits. His solicitude for the 
discipline of the new members of the company was 
as intense as ever. He brooked no restraint, suc- 
cumbed to no difficulties, and yielded to no impedi- 
ments while prosecuting this great work. At 
length he was satisfied with his achievements as a 
tactician.* With the most agreeable emotions he 
contemplated the superstructure that rose into beau- 
tifal being under his skillful hands. In the grand- 
est proportions before him stood the monument of 
his military genius and industry. He reared it by 
the dint of ceaseless toil. It had gone up slowly, 
but surely. His Zouave battalion was perfect in the 
Zouave drill. To the rare credit of making and 
commanding finished soldiers he could justly lay 
claim. His battalion was an honor to any place. 
.This the citizens of Chicago deeply felt. To Cap- 
tain Ellsworth they were grateful for furnishing 
such an ornament to their city. Of this worthy 
feeling they furnished many striking and distinct 
indications. They were justly proud of their Zou- 
aves. The precision distinguishing their evolutions, 

* " He drilled these young men for about a year at short intervals. 
His discipline was very severe and rigid. Added to the punctilio 
of the martinet was the rigor of the moralist. The slightest exhibi- 
tion of intemperance or licentiousness was punished by instant deg- 
radation and expulsion. He struck from the rolls at one time tioelve 
of his best men for breaking the rule of total abstinence. Hig 
moral power over them was perfect and absolute. I believe any one 
of them would have died for him." — An intimate 'friend of Chicago. 



ELLSWORTH. . 159 

tlie unusual flexibility characterizino: their move- 
ments, the skill with which they handled their arms, 
the intricacy of their drill, with the wonderful com- 
pleteness of the whole, surprised the most stolid, 
and drew from the masses the most enthusiastic 
laudations. To Chicago Captain Ellsworth pre- 
sented a military organization of which her citizens 
had no reason to be ashamed, nor for whom they 
had to apologize. 

But this was not the end of this Zouave company. 
Its fame and the fame of its skillful and intrepid 
chieftain had spread throughout the whole United 
States. With simply hearing of their wonderful 
exploits and remarkable adroitness the people were 
by no means satisfied. They asked to see for them- 
selves. They sought to derive both pleasure and 
profit from the achievements of this military prod- 
igy, and to award him the applause justly his due.^i^ 

In response to the urgent calls from abroad, Cap- 
tain Ellsworth, little more than a beardless stripling, 
instead of a grufi', stern, severe, and aged tactician, 
as many thought, in triumph traversed the whole 
countr}', exhibiting the drill and tactics of his Zou- 
aves in most of the principal cities in the ISTorth, 
East, and West.f His progress through the country 
was a perfect ovation. "Wherever he and his com- 
pany appeared the greatest enthusiasm prevailed. 



* At the United States Agricultural Fair Ellsworth's company of 
Zouaves took the premium colors. 

t "The unique and jaunty dress of the Chicagoans, their quick 
and strange evolutions, their masterly precision and unanimity of 



160 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Every body was pleased — all were delighted. So 
great and general excitement had not been created 
for many years. Had they been conquerors from. 
the field of martial glory, returning to their homes, 
they could not have produced a greater commotion 
nor secured greater applause. The like had never 
been seen. They were welcomed by the wild shouts 
of the men, and greeted by the smiles of the fair 
ones wherever they appeared. Their performances 
were regarded wonderful, and the perfection of their 
drill exceeded any thing of which they had ever 
dreamed. In their whole track they left the people 
stirred to the profoundest depth and mad with mili- 
tary zeal. This was the great forerunner of the 
martial fires that subsequent events kindled upon 
the altars of the entire nation. 

In winding up their interesting tour of exhibition 
they performed at the '' White House," to the great 
delight of President Buchanan, the government offi- 
cials, and the elite of Washington. From the gay 
Capital of the Federal Government they returned to 
Chicago, delighted, renowned, and covered with 
martial glory ! 

In this remarkable trip with his Zouaves through 
our principal cities, his capacity for command, his 



drill, attracted general admiration from the public, and won golden 
opinions for Colonel Ellsworth." — A New Yorh Journal. 

Escorted from New York to West Pointy they gave an exhibition 
of their skill before Governor Banks, Je/?\ Davis, and Colonel Hardee. 
The journal already quoted from says, "Colonel Ellsworth's name 
will go down to posterity as the founder, in this country, of the pop- 
ular Zouave drill." 



ELLSWORTH. 161 

Belf-possession, his personal courage and dignity 
were displayed on a wide and grand scale. His ac- 
quisition of a national military reputation in times 
of profound peace, without having ever seen our 
Military Academy, while both young and obscure, 
singles him out from among the masses as an extra- 
ordinary young man. Such was the conviction of 
all who kneAV him. In his tour through the states 
he had left a deep and ineffaceable impression upon 
the minds of the people. 

From this military tour there emanated perma- 
nently beneficial results. So many years of uninter- 
rupted peace had made us an unmilitary people. 
Hardly an active patron of the art of Mars was to 
be found in the wdiole land. Even the ordinary 
state militia parades had been discontinued as an 
annoying custom. We were accustomed to dream 
of perpetual peace. War in this rich and happy 
land was deemed utterly impossible. It was confi- 
dently asserted that the temple of Janus would 
never be opened in America. Yet at this very time 
the storm of secessionism, soon to burst upon the 
people flike a clap of thunder in a clear sky, was 
gathering up its energies for the terrible conflict. 
The people needed just such an awakening as that 
given them by Captain Ellsworth's military exhibi- 
tion. The new condition of things about to trans- 
pire, and their safety from the demon of treason, 
required a stimulus of this energetic character. 
Young men could easily be found that had never 
witnessed a military movement or military pageant 
of any kind. All were alike ignorant of military 
14 



162 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tactics. The liot pursuit of wealtli and political dis- 
tinction led the citizens to ignore their utility. As 
the result of this state of things, no people could 
have been less prepared for an emergency calling 
for the use of arms than were the citizens of the 
free states. 

But the passage of Captain Ellsworth through 
our midst opened up a new era among us. The 
military ardor of the people was aroused, and their 
martial fires kindled anew. Companies of Zouaves 
were immediately formed in all the principal cities 
of the whole country. With Captain Ellsworth an 
extensive correspondence was kept up from various 
portions of the country. To all who applied to him 
he furnished the basis of drill and organization. 
"Within a few months the martial spirit of people 
arose a hundred per cent, above what it had been 
for years. In all conscience, we were badly enough 
off at the beginning of the Southern rebellion ; but 
had it not been for the salutary effects of the labors 
of Captain Ellsworth we would have been compara- 
tively helpless and at the mercy of the conspirators. 
But the effects of his blazing llight through the 
land was the formation of miclei of disciplined 
troops, around which rallied the patriots of the 
country, eventuating in one of the most formidable 
armies that ever fought a battle or vanquished an 
enemy. 

Immediately subsequent to this tour, Captain Ells- 
worth resumed the study of law in the office and 
under the supervision of Abraham Lincoln, of 
Springfield, Illinois. For the young student this 



ELLSWORTH. 163 

was a most fortunate event. At this time Mr. Lin- 
coln was but little known beyond the limits of his 
Congressional District, of whicli lie was once the 
Representative in Washington. But those who knew 
him intimately knew him to be a man of superior 
abilities, and a law^yer of more than ordinary attain- 
ments. Shrewd, eloquent, honest, and clear-headed, 
to confuse or defeat him was one of the most diffi- 
cult tasks falling to the lot of man. This fact many 
learned amid a state of things that will not permit 
them to easily forget the lesson. Mr. Lincoln was 
as much distinguished for his inflexible integrity, as 
he was for his great self-possession and amiability. 
Moral propriety was his guiding star, and in the path 
penciled out by its light he ever walked. In rich 
abundance he inherited the rare faculty of shaping 
the emotions and controlling the convictions of the 
masses. He was a natural, competent, and reliable 
leader. In whatever he engaged he was generally 
successful. To the control of his great abilities men 
readily consigned themselves, just as the people con- 
fided to him the keeping of their country. He who 
rose, by his own unaided effoi'ts, from the lowliest 
condition of life to the Presidency of this great 
country, was certainly capable of helping others up 
the steep of life. 

Under the tuition and guidance of such a man 
Ellsworth placed himself w^ith the most sublime 
confidence. From such a relation with such a genius 
he could not but be greatly benefited. Of Mr. Lin- 
coln becoming President of the United States he did 
not even dream w^hen he entered his office as a stu- 



164 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

dent of law. The future greatness of his generous 
patron had nothing to do with the seeking of his 
instruction and friendship. But as subsequent events 
have shown, Ellsworth could not have placed him- 
self in a better situation to secure the assistance 
reqmred for the ultimate attainment of his great 
object. He shared in the instruction, and secured 
by his virtuous life the friendship and esteem of one 
who had the will, and subsequently acquired the 
power, to aid him to the fullest extent of his laud- 
able aspirations. 

"While in Mr. Lincoln's office Captain Ellsworth 
distinguished himself for his patient industry and 
close application. His whole deportment was ad- 
mirable and highly gratifying to his generous pre- 
ceptor. He rapidly won upon his regards, and Mr. 
Lincoln took the liveliest interest in all his affairs. 
The prospective President beheld in the stripling 
student the material for an efficient and powerful 
public functionary. He busied himself in projecting 
schemes for Ellsworth's advancement, and resolved 
upon his promotion to some suitable station if within 
the range of his ability. 

Captain Ellsworth continued in Mr. Lincoln's office 
until after the Presidential election. Then, having 
completed the usual course of reading, he passed a 
very creditable examination, and was formally ad- 
mitted to the bar for the practice of law. 

During this period of preparation for the legal 
profession, Ellsworth, instead of squandering his 
spare hours in dissipation, or prostituting his rare 
powers to the gratification of his passions, kept those 



ELLSWORTH, 165 

passions under, and redeemed liis moments of leisure 
and relaxation in writing out a theory of military 
organization for the whole country. Tliis was a 
stupendous work. Discriminating and careful be- 
yond his years, for his country's security he engaged 
in the prosecution of a work, about which young 
men rarely think, much less attempt to bring it 
about. Captain Ellsworth had the gravity and men- 
tal maturity to be found generally among those of 
riper years. With a wonderful self-forgetfulness he 
devoted himself to the advancement of that which 
was national, grand, and valuable. The work was 
well done. He wrote with ease, elegance, and per- 
spicuity. Taking into the account his limited edu- 
cational facilities, the distinctness, force, and compact 
brevity of his language are something wonderful. 
Ilis utterances are the pure, beaten gold. He ex- 
plains and illustrates the evolutions of infantry, ar- 
tiller}^, or cavalry in words as clear, pointed, and 
forcible as the most accomplished writer. 

He had hoped to complete his theory and bring it 
before the War Department for its action. But in 
this he was destined to disappointment, as in other 
expectations. The work still remains in an unfin- 
ished state, a naonument of the genius of its author. 

His intimate relations with .President Lincoln in- 
duced him, impelled by the expressed wish of the 
President, to forego the completion ^f his favorite 
scheme. At this time, with the most encouraging 
prospects of receiving it, he- was induced to apply 
for the situation of the first clerkship of the AYar 
Department. But in this, though Mr. Lincoln had 



166 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

his heart fixed upon it, he was again disappointed. 
The Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron, had at an early- 
period promised this clerkship to one of his own 
special friends. To the expressed wish of the Pres- 
ident the inflexible Secretary would not yield. He 
was intent upon taking care of his own friends, re- 
gardless of the engagement of Mr. Lincoln, or the 
fate of others. The President's promise to Captain 
Ellsworth was nothing in the Secretary's opinion. 
The former could atibrd to break it, but the latter 
could not. Such was Mr. Cameron's logic. Though 
disappointed on every hand, Ellsworth did not de- 
spair. He hoped on — hoped ever. His aspirations 
could not be repressed. 

The President elect was ready to repair to the Na- 
tional Capital. Captain Ellsworth was one of the 
few select friends invited to accompany him and his 
family. This Ellsworth did. He was an agreeable 
member of the civil escort. Brimful of life, and 
always enjoying a fine flow of spirits, he largely 
contributed to the comfort and pleasure of the Pres- 
idential cortege. His sprightly wit and agreeable 
humor greatly increased the pleasurableness of the 
trip, and made him quite a favorite with the whole 
party. Always cheerful and happy, he did much to 
shed the sunshine of happiness upon all with whom 
he associated. The eminent part that he sustained 
while with th^ Presidential party on its way to the 
Capital will never be forgotten by those who com- 
posed it. « 

As Baltimoreans threatened the life of Mr. Lin- 
coln, it was deemed expedient for him to attempt to 



ELLSWORTH. 167 

reacli Wasliington incognito. This was done. From 
Lancaster City Mr. Lincoln and a few reliable and 
special friends traveled tlirough Baltimore to the 
Capital in the guise of foreigners. As Mrs. Lincoln, 
ftimily, and others of the escort were left to follow 
after in the regular train, her mind was the prey of 
the most torturing apprehensions. She knew the 
fearless courage of her distinguished husband ; that 
he rather courted than shunned danger, and that ho 
had reluctantly consented to resort to such question- 
able means to escape the dangers of the mob. She 
was fearful that his disguise would prove ineffectual 
and lead to his recognition, arrest, and final assas- 
sination ; or that, if the disguise proved complete, 
his imprudent valor would lead him into some in- 
discretion serving to identify him, and bring upon 
him the very evils designed to be avoided by this 
expedient. That was the most anxious and painful 
period of her whole life. To all the charms of so- 
ciety, to the respect and honors paid her, she was 
perfectly indifferent. From the contemplation of 
the monstrous fate that she conceived awaited her 
husband, no ordinary occurrence could divert her 
mind. Had not the ever-cheerful and buoyant Ells- 
worth come to her partial relief at this trying 
conjuncture, the sad sequel of such a powerful ten- 
sion of her mind for so long can be more easily 
conjectured than described. With an intuitive 
knowledge of the human heart and its mysterious 
workings, Ellsworth succeeded in partially diverting 
her mind from the one painful thought that en- 
grossed and haunted it like a specter. The deep 



168 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

sadness had partially disappeared from lier counte- 
nance, and the usual luster had partially returned to 
her eye. Ellsworth stood amid that saddened group 
like the brilliant light-house generously throwing its 
beams athwart the stranding reef. His post of affec- 
tion was maintained until the tidings of the Presi- 
dent's safe arrival at the metropolis was authorita- 
tively announced. Then joy sparkled in every 
eye and beamed from every countenance, ^o one 
was happier than Ellsworth, because his friends were 
happy. lie had accomplished a noble work. He 
had contributed to the aggregate of human bliss. 
He was a benefactor of his race. As a reward for 
his unselfish conduct his memory is embalmed iu 
the grateful hearts of his associates. 

For the second time Captain Ellsworth enters the 
Capital of this great liepublic. Though a rising 
man, but few, if any, thought that within a few brief 
months he w^ould be one of the most popular men in 
the nation, and that millions of patriotic lips would 
tenderly pronounce his name with aftectionate en- 
thusiasm and honest applause. But so it was. He 
had begun to gather the rich harvest of the seed he 
had sown with so much labor and suffering. Fortune 
was generously emptying her cornucopia into his 
lap. The luxuriant fruits of his tireless efforts and 
heroic self-denial were flowing in upon him. 

The President was inaugurated. The inaugurat- 
ing ceremonies, of unusual pomp and splendor, had 
transpired. The Cabinet had been constructed. The 
difficult and annoying business of filling the various 
offices, and of accommodating the myriads of office- 



ELLSWORTH. 169 

seekers, was rapicll}^ dispatched. In amazement 
Ellsworth looked upon the unscrupulous greed and 
imblushing intrigue of the hungry multitudes who 
sought to thrust themselves into offices of responsi- 
bility and honor. Of the most sterling integrity 
liimself, he could hardly credit the evidences of 
corruption every-where about him. He had formed 
too high an estimate of human nature, and now the 
dark scenes of political villainy were opening up 
before him. For the first time he got a glimpse of 
the gigantic scale upon which fraud is carried on in 
the Capital of the Federal Government. He sighed 
as he beheld the terrible struggle to secure the spoils 
of office. He was astounded and disgusted. He 
feared that the love of country was an emotion to 
which American office-seekers were utter strangers. 
He trembled for the future of his country. 

As he was disappointed in the promised clerkship 
of the "War Department, Mr. Lincoln prevented his 
return to Chicago by appointing him a Second Lieu- 
tenant in the Eegular Army. But with the intrusion 
of a civilian into their exclusive circle the "regu- 
lars " were extremely dissatisfied, and professed to be 
disgusted. As he had never been a charity scholar 
at West Point — as he had not sponged upon the 
government for four years — they determined to com- 
pel him to resign by mortifying and annoying treat- 
ment. As an outsider, coming with schemes of 
reform, he could not be tolerated for a moment. 
Such was the harsh, discourteous treatment received 
from these courteous and polished W^est Pointers, 
that his sensitive nature sank undei' it, and a scvero 
15 



170 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UKEON. 

fever ensued. Yet he did not sufler them to strip 
him of his honesty and honors. 

But hardly had he got his epaulets adjusted to his 
youthful shoulders when a wider and more congenial 
field of action spread out invitingly before him. 
The shrill notes of intestine war were growing 
louder and coming nearer the Capital. The bugle 
clanged out over the land in thunder-blasts. The 
attitude of the insurgent South was alarmingly 
threatening. Sumter had fallen, and the Capital 
was menaced. Only a few companies of regulars 
could be commanded, to prevent the insolent foe 
from taking the Capital. These were insuflicient. 
The South had her organized thousands. We had 
but hundreds. Mr. Lincoln called for volunteers to 
fly to the rescue. Foremost among those who re- 
sponded to the urgent call was Elmer Ellsworth. 
Kesigning his commission in the Regular Army, he 
offered his services to the President as a volunteer, 
proposing to raise a regiment from the Fire Depart- 
ment of New York. For this great work he was 
immediately commissioned Colonel of volunteers. 
At once he repaired to Kew York, and in an incred- 
ibly brief period he completed the formation of a 
regiment of one thousand and ten men. Within 
twenty days he arrived at Washington with his 
regiment, thin, hoarse, flushed, but contented and 
happy. His men were the best of the Fire Depart- 
ment. They were vigorous, muscular, and thor- 
oughly inured to toils and hardships. Fearless, 
brave, and patriotic, they were the best men for the 
emergency that called them to the Capital. In a 



ELLSWORTH. 171 

briefer period tlian any one else lie brought a regi- 
ment of patriotic hearts and courageous arms to 
Bteady the ark of government, then jostled by South- 
ern arrogance and traitorous rapacity. 

Manv derided as error and scoffed as fanaticism 
the idea of transforming the rude, wild, and hard- 
ened ^ew York firemen into drilled and disciplined 
soldiers. But Colonel Ellsworth's signal success 
closed the mouth of the objector, and forever settled 
the question. When he crossed over to Alexandria 
his was the best-drilled regiment at Washington. 
Perhaps the majority who might have undertaken 
the enterprise would have failed. But Colonel Ells- 
worth appeared peculiarly fitted for such a work. 
^'His great efficiency as a disciplinarian, his power 
of command over his men, his unquestioned valor, 
and the extensive information he had acquired in the 
field of military operations and modern tactics," 
qualified him to succeed in just such a situation. 
His ability " to win esteem, to exact a prompt and 
willing obedience, to inspire with unfaltering confi- 
dence all with whom he came in contact," far ex- 
ceeded that of most men, and is the secret of his 
achievements as an officer. Thus he controlled and 
molded the Fire Zouaves into expert and excellent 
soldiers. In his masterly hands they became a pli- 
ant and yielding mass, whom he could have burled, 
with the force of an avalanche, ao'ainst the insur- 
gents. Brave, disciplined, possessing great powers 
of endurance, with the gallant Ellsworth at their 
head, they were capable of going where none but the 
truest, the best, and bravest could have gone. 



172 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNIOJT. 

Reaching Washington at an early period, his was 
the first re2:iment sworn in for the w^ar. Until this 
causeless rebellion was crushed, or until they fell at 
their posts, they had volunteered their services to 
their country. EUsv/orth did not wait to ascertain 
if such a step would be popular, but, seeing the 
danger with which the government w^as threatened, 
he sprang to its relief with the bound of the lion 
upon his prey. 

Upon the evening of the 23d of May a new class 
of circumstances began to gather about him. Up to 
this day Colonel Ellsworth had been connected 
with, and engaged in, " the peaceful and bloodless 
aspects of war. He had not yet grappled w^ith the 
bitter and furious enemy. Now the scenes were 
about to change, and the theater of activities shifted 
to the Virginia side of the Potomac. His abilities 
as a Colonel were about to be subjected to a new 
test, and a severe ordeal awaited him. On to-morrow 
he and his braves, in all likelihood, w^ould measure 
their prowess w^ith that of the vainglorious rebels. 
On to-morrow" he might undo in one hour the w^ork 
of an entire lifetime. On to-morrow his hitherto 
strange, checkered, and adventurous career might 
be brought to a speedy close. He keenly felt all 
this. He was not insensible to the character and 
effects of his first active movements. His massive 
chest heaved with new and stirring emotions. The 
eve of an expected battle is always a solemn season. 
He and his laborious staft" fully realized the grandeur 
and magnitude of the work before them. It was no 
pageant they were going to witness. It was the 



ELLSWORTH. 173 

stern reality of war they were to feel. They knew 
neither the strength nor character of the enemy 
they were likely to meet. Myriads of secession 
minions might fall upon and scatter them as the 
wind scatters the chaft*. These contingencies were 
not ignored by, nor did they intimidate, the young 
Colonel. This was the great preparation day for the 
transit of the troops into the " sacred soil" of Dixie. 
Most minutely he superintended the preparation 
for the forward movement. Besides this, when at 
leisure, he chatted in the most lively and agreeable 
manner. He was the life and soul of his compan- 
ions in office and arms. After .the work was done, 
and every thing in readiness, he called around him 
his men in the deep twilight of the closing day, and 
delivered to them a brief, spirited, and stirring 
speech. " ]!!^ow, boys," said he, " go to bed, and 
wake up at two o'clock for a sail and a skirmish." 
When the camp was silent he began to work. 
He wrote many hours, arranging the business of the 
regiment. He finished his labors as the midnight 
stars were crossing the zenith. As he sat in his 
tent by the shore, it seems as if the mystic gales 
from the near eternity must have breathed for a 
moment over his soul, freighted with the odor of 
amaranths and asphodels. He wrote two strange 
letters — one to her who mourns him faithful in 
death, one to his parents. There is nothing braver 
or more pathetic. With the prophetic instinct of 
love he assumed the office of consoler for the stroke 
that impended. Upon the first of these letters no 
eyes were permitted to look but those for which it 



174 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

was originally intended; the latter became the prop- 
erty of the public. Thus he wrote to his parents : 

" IIead-qitarters First Zouaves, Camp Lincoln, ) 
Washington, D. C, Mai/ 23, 18G1. J 
"iWy Dear Father and Mother: The regiment is ordered to 
cross the river to-night. We have no means of knowing what 
reception we shall meet with. I am inclined to the opinion that 
our entrance into the city of Alexandria will be hotly contested, 
as I am just informed that a large force has arrived there to-day. 
Should this happen, my dear parents, it may be my lot to be in- 
jured in some way. Whatever may happen, cherish the conso- 
lation that I was engaged in the performance of a sacred duty; 
and to-night, thinking over the probabilities of to-morrow and the 
occurrences of the past, I am perfectly content to accept whatever 
my fortune may be, confident that lie who noteth even the fall 
of the sparrow will have some purpose even in the fate of one like 
me. My darling and beloved parents, good-by. God bless, and 
protect, and care for you. Elmer." 

iN'obly, grandly spoken ! This was the last, noble 
outgushing of a nobly filial heart. Alone for his 
parents he manifested concern and felt anxiety. He 
paused in his career of glory to prepare their hearts 
for any calamity that might befall him in the future. 
He sanctified the twilight hour of his last living day 
in renewing the assurances of his deep and abiding 
love for those who nurtured him, and in furnishing 
them with a remembrance of the closing scenes of 
his brief but brilliant career. He wrote as if sur- 
rounded by the most peaceful scenes, so tranquil his 
spirit, so calm his mind. Yet he wrote like one 
who had a dim but impressive presentiment of his 
coming fate. At least, he felt that the " sacred soil" 
would not likely be reached without the shedding 
of blood, but of the special manner that blood was 



ELLSWORTH. 175 

to be sliecl lie had no very clear or distinct concep- 
tion. This he did know, that if there was fighting 
and danger he would he in the midst of them. 

Early on the morning of the 24th of May Colonel 
Ellsworth's regiment was embarked at the iS'avy- 
yard for transportation to Alexandria. This was 
accomplished in as brief a period as it was practi- 
cable to move so great a body of men. i^o accident 
occurred to disturb the easy progress of the invasion 
of Virginia. At an early hour the regiment, with 
its beloved chieftain, reached its destination. It was 
before Alexandria. A man-of-war was anchored in 
its vicinity to cover its landing, if assailed by the 
rebels. Its debarkation at once commenced. Each' 
Zouave was eager to be the first to tread the soil of 
the " Old Dominion." Consequently they were not 
long in eftecting a landing. Calm, thoughtful, se- 
date. Colonel Ellsworth stood upon the pier, watch- 
ing the landing and formation of his troops into line 
of battle. They were sweeping, in a few minutes, 
through the streets of Alexandria as conquerors. 

Upon the appearance of the Federal forces the 
rebels precipitately fled. They did not fire a soli- 
tary gun. .There was to be no battle. The occupa- 
tion of Virginia promised to be bloodless. Up to 
this time every thing had gone on as well as any 
one could have desired it. Satisfied that they had, 
even then, full possession of the city, Colonel Ells- 
worth, with a small squad of his men and a couple 
of his friends, started for the telegraph office. It 
was very important that rebel communication with 
Alexandria should be entirely cut oflf. This he had 



176 THE HEPtOES OF THE WAR FOB THE UNION. 

in contemplation in his movement upon tlie tele- 
graph office. But on his way thither he espied a 
rebel flag proudly waving from the principal hotel 
of the city. To him, his men, and his government 
it was a gross insult. The haughty insolence it. 
discovered was intolerable. " That flag must come 
down ! " exclaimed Ellsworth, in tones that left no 
grounds to mistake his purpose. In an instant he 
had resolved to remove it with his own hands. 
Soon he and three others, consisting of a chaplain, a 
correspondent, and a Zouave, were on their way to 
the oftensive and defiant bunting. They reached the 
hotel just as the sleepers were emerging from their 
bed-rooms. On ascending the stairs, Jackson, the 
proprietor of the house, was encountered descending 
to the lower story. Questioned respecting the person 
responsible for the flying of the flag from the house- 
top, he professed entire ignorance of the matter, 
claiming to be only a boarder. As they were all 
strangers in Alexandria, neither of them recognized 
in this professed boarder the relentless Jackson, the 
secession keeper of the Marshall House. He was 
then on his way to get his well-loaded gun. 

The symbol of treason was reached. Colonel 
Ellsworth tore it down with his own hands, wrapped 
it about his body, and the party began to descend. 
Eeaching the second flight of stairs, Jackson, grim 
with malice, confronted them with a double-barreled 
gun, loaded, as was afterward ascertained, with 
slugs. Quick as the flash of an eye, ere the move- 
ment could be fully realized, he raised his gun and 
discharged the contents of one of the barrels into tho 



ELLSWORTH. 177 

heart of poor Ellsworth ! He fell heavily forward, 
faintly murmuring " My God ! " then expired 1 

Immediately Jackson turned the other barrel upon 
Francis E. Brownell, a Fire Zouave. Seeing his 
imminent danger, with his own gun he knocked 
that of Jackson aside, and sent a ball whizzing into 
his malicious face. He was dead by the time he 
reached the floor; but, to make sure of his prize, 
Brownell pinned him to the floor with his bayonet. 
The death of Ellsworth was partially avenged. A 
most terrible retribution followed swiftly upon the 
commission of so atrocious a crime. Brownell has 
earned immortality by so promptly retaliating upon 
the murderer of Ellsworth. The people of the 
w^hole country appreciate so brave and noble a deed, 
and have given him most substantial testimony of 
their high regards. His name is deservedly coupled 
wdth the name of Colonel Ellsworth. The history 
of the latter would be incomplete without the rela- 
tion of this brave act of the former. As he could 
not save Colonel Ellsworth's life, he nobly avenged 
his death. 

This Jackson, the brutal and lying assassin of 
Ellsworth, was a model member of the chivalry of 
which the South has boasted so much. Besides this, 
he was a leading secessionist. His hatred of all who 
did not, like himself, bow down and worship the 
Southern heast, was savage and intense. A natural 
tyrant, and strengthened in his disposition by the 
institution of slavery, he could not bear to witness 
the exercise of the manly rights inherited by all and 
guaranteed to all by the Declaration of Independ- 



178 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

ence. Like all secessionists, he was devoid of prin- 
ciple, cruelly malignant, and fiercely vindictive. His 
espousal of the Southern cause and his devotion to 
Southern interests transformed him into an unpity- 
ing monster. Upon the accursed altar of African 
slavery he cheerfully immolated every humane and 
manly sentiment. Insolent, cruel, and tyrannical, he 
was a most hefitting tool to advance the fell schemes 
of the haughty slaveocrats. His heart was turned 
into gall, he was lost to all sense of common decency, 
and his sole delight consisted in torturing all who 
did not cry with him, " Great is Diana of the Ephe- 
sians ! " Cold, fierce, and unrelenting, he is a fair 
type of what devotion to the Southern cause will 
make of a man. It poisons the very fountain of life. 
It turns man into a savage, bloodthirsty animal, and 
makes him the greatest enemy of the human race. 
Of Jackson and kindred secessionists it may be 
said as Paul said to Elymas, " 0, full of all subtilty 
and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy 
of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert 
the right ways of the Lord ? " 

ITeither was this secession monster of recent or- 
igin. For him to be natural was to be a secession- 
ist. Several years previous to this he gave strong 
indications of the desperate deeds of which he was 
capable, and for which he was prepartng himself. 
He was prominent amid the awful scenes which dis- 
graced Virginia in the days of the John Brown 
raid upon Harper's Ferry. Too cowardly to attack 
the old hero in a manly way when alive, with a 
ghastly smile he cropped off his ears when dead, 



ELLSWORTH. 179 

after tlae malevolent Wise liad hung liim. As tro- 
phies — trophies bloody, and such as in which none 
but the most villainous could take pleasure — of the 
chivalrous and magnanimous South, they were pre- 
served in alcohol, and exhibited to the curious. 

He was sternly opposed to every movement that 
looked toward the freedom of thought and the lib- 
erty of speech. He was thoroughly imbued with 
the vile spirit that felled the noble Sumner to the 
Senate floor when simply enjoying rights secured to 
him by the Constitution of the United States. Had 
Jackson been in the place of the bully Brooks, Sum- 
ner would not have been the leading champion of 
freedom durins^ the Southern effort to enslave the 
whole nation. So eager was this champion of South- 
ern rights to commend himself to the favorable no- 
tice of the secession oligarchy, that he permitted no 
opportunity to traduce and vilify the friends of free- 
dom to pass unimproved. He was an untiring 
worker for the perpetuity and extension of slav- 
ery, yet he was never able to own a slave him- 
self. 

But this is not all. His motto as proprietor of the 
Marshall House, of Alexandria, clearly indicates his 
spirit and purpose. " Virginia is determined to and 
will conquer under the command of Jeff. Davis," 
said he on his hotel card. The rough treason of 
this heavy sentence is so conspicuous that all may 
see it. For sullen, severe antipathy for our institu- 
tions, and unblushing disloyalty to our government, 
his superior is not to be any- where found. It is 
only in General Kains, the sneaking, cowardly orig- 



180 THE HEEOES OF THE WAU FOR THE UNIOK. 

inator of tlie Yorktown torpedoes, that Ms equal in 
cruelty and treason is to be found. 

Sucli was tlie monster — such an outline picture of 
the assassin of Colonel Ellsworth. He had nobly 
acquitted himself as a prominent member of South- 
ern society — a society in which the use of the pistol 
and knife were almost of daily occurrence, and in 
which all indignities were wiped out in blood. The 
secessionists gloated over the dark deed; though 
they did not make him their equal as an associate, 
yet they did not disdain to applaud his act, and ac- 
cord to him the place of a martyr in the cause of 
the South. The Southern press was jubilant, while 
it placed the ruffian who perpetrated the crime in 
its pantheon of heroes. It was the first conspicu- 
ous exhibition of the Southern spirit, and with 
nothiug that had occurred since the capture of Sum- 
ter was the South so well pleased. To be brutally 
murdered by such an embodiment of all that is 
mean and villainous, was, indeed, deeply mortify- 
ing — a sad calamity. 

At the hands of this secession hydra, the brave, 
noble, and patriotic Ellsworth died, at the early age 
of twenty-three years ! To the Federal Government, 
to his regiment, to the whole country, his fall was a 
sad and stunning blow. All keenly felt and pro- 
foundly lamented the great loss our cause had sus- 
tained. The death of no one could have produced 
more universal or deeper grief, mingled with feel- 
ings of anger and indignation, than the death of 
Colonel Ellsworth. " This catastrophe aroused the 
sympathy and indignation of the whole country. 



ELLSWORTH. 181 

Had he fallen upon the battle-field, charging at the 
head of his legion, his loss could have been met with 
more resignation, though even then the great public 
heart would have been tilled with sorrow. His brill- 
iant deeds would have wiped away the nation's 
tears," and mitigated the nation's grief. But, '^ alas ! 
he fell by the hand of the assassin. Still he was 
treading in the path of duty, and in his last act 
trampled the rebel banner beneath his feet, baptizing 
it for destruction with his life-blood." 

The people were exasperated. Thousands of bit- 
ter and determined enemies to the South were raised 
up by this nefarious deed. For every drop of blood 
drawn from Ellsworth by the assassin, a Federal sol- 
dier sprang into the ranks of the Union army, de- 
termined to avenge his death upon his unprincipled 
enemies. Than the assassination of Colonel Ells- 
worth, no event was more unfortunate for the South. 
It awakened the dormant sensibilities of thousands 
that no ordinary event could have reached. In Chi- 
cago, from whence he started out to battle for lib- 
erty, where the greatest interest' was taken in his 
career, and where the highest hopes w^ere entertained 
of his future greatness, '' every man," on hearing of 
the assassination of the favorite citizen, " clenched 
his teeth with a firmer resolve to add new energies 
and more terrible destructiveness to a war against 
enemies among whom poison and the dagger seem 
to be the favorite weapon." It was not only in Chi- 
cago, but over all the loyal states, that the people 
thus felt and acted. 

Among the distinguished sufferers from this event 



182 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

were the stricken parents of Colonel Ellsworth. He 
was their only son — a son of whom they were justly 
proud, and upon whose rising fortunes they looked 
with wonder and delight. Their anguish consequent 
upon the announcement of his death was overwhelm- 
ing. It was as crushing as unexpected. From its 
blighting effects they will never wholly recover. 
His venerable father was in the telegraph office when 
the melancholy tidings arrived. His first intimation 
of this great bereavement was the fast-falling tears 
of the operator. He wept over the undeciphered 
message ; and his tears told a tale of woe, the with- 
ering effects of which no language could adequately 
depict. The lightning shaft had torn from the par- 
ent trunk its only remaining branch. The father's 
agony was keen, indeed. His almost idolized Elmer 
was lifeless — cold and stark in death ! His manly 
voice would no more ring upon his ear. Alas ! for 
those crushed, heart-broken parents ! This wicked 
rebellion has carried sorrow and bereavement to 
thousands of loving hearts, and theirs were the first 
to be blighted. 

But theirs were not the only hearts that bled at a 
thousand pores, and that keenly felt the sudden 
bereavement. To the beautiful, intellectual, and 
wealthy Miss Carrie Spaftbrd Colonel Ellsworth was 
betrothed. The news of his death crushed through 
her heart like a thunderbolt. Like the dove that 
covers the dart with its wing that enters its heart, 
Miss Carrie's relations to the distinguished dead 
compelled her to hide the fatal arrow that had pen- 
etrated her heart. She experienced all the un- 



ELLSWOETH. 183 

fatliomable agony of a bereaved wife, but was denied 
the privilege of mourning for him as such. Custom, 
inexorable as fate, required her to suppress her an- 
guish, and, without giving it expression, pine away 
in secret, unpitied and unsolaced. 

Among those most deeply touched by this calam- 
ity was the President himself. His personal attach- 
ment to Ellsworth was deep and sincere. He knew 
his excellent qualities, and loved him for his sterling 
worth. To a gentleman wdio called upon the Pres- 
ident on the evening of that gloomy day, w^e are 
indebted for our knowledge of one of the noblest 
qualities of our noble President's heart, and of one 
of the most touching incidents that occurred in con- 
nection wdth the death of young Ellsworth. 

" I called," said the gentleman, '' at the White 
House, with Senator Wilson of Massachusetts, to see 
the President on a pressing matter of business, and 
as we entered we remarked the President standing 
before a window looking out across the Potomac. 
He did not move until we approached very closely, 
when he turned very abruptly and advanced toward 
us, extending his hand. 'Excuse me,' he said, 'but 
I can not talk.' The President burst into tears and 
concealed his face in his handkerchief. He w^alked 
up and down the room for some moments, and we 
stepped aside in silence, not a little moved at such 
an unusual spectacle in such a man, in such a place. 
After composing himself somewhat, the President 
took his seat, and desired us to approach. ' I will 
make no apology, gentlemen,' said the President, 
* for my weakness ; but I knew poor Ellsworth well, 



184 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

and held him in great regard. Jnst as you entered 
the room, Captain Fox left me, after giving me the 
painful details of Ellsworth's unfortunate death. 
The event was so unexpected, and the recital in 
touching, that it quite unmanned me.' 

" The President here made a violent effort to re- 
strain his feelings, and after a pause he proceeded, 
with a tremulous voice, to give us the incidents of 
the tragedy that had occurred. 'Poor fellow,' re- 
peated the President, as he closed his relation, ' it 
was undoubtedly an act of rashness, but it only 
shows the heroic spirit that animates our soldiers, 
from high to low, in this righteous cause of ours. 
Yet who can restrain their grief to see them fall in 
such a way as this, not by the fortunes of war, but 
by the hand of an assassin ? ' Toward the close of 
his remarks he added : ' There is one fact which has 
reached me which is a great consolation to my heart, 
and quite a relief after this melancholy affair. I 
learn from several persons, that when the Stars and 
Stripes were raised again in Alexandria, many of 
the people of the tov»^n actually wept for joy, and 
manifested the liveliest satisfaction that this familiar 
and loved emblem was once more floating above 
them. This is another proof that all the South is 
not secession, and it is my earnest hope that, as we 
advance, we shall find as many friends as foes.'" 

Such was the hold that Colonel Ellsworth had se- 
cured upon the affections of the President by his 
brave and manly conduct, and such was the grief 
occasioned by his death, from the Chief Magistrate 
down to the humblest citizen. 



ELLSWORTH. 185 

Prudence dictated the propriety of concealing for 
awhile from his regiment the intelligence of his 
assassination. Before all else the city had to be 
secured, and measures taken to prevent others falling 
victims to the rapacity of Southern treason. Having 
satisfactorily arranged these affairs, the melancholy 
event was announced to the Fire Zouaves. It fell 
upon them like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. 
Their emotions were profound and terrific. Their 
faces became livid with blended wrath and indigna- 
tion. Their efforts to repress their great grief w^ere 
perfectly fruitless. They were speechless with an- 
guish. It was painful to witness the severe confl.ict 
through which they were passing. But at length 
the volcano of pent-up feelings erupted. They were 
carried away by their fiery rage as by a whirlwind. 
An intense and fierce desire to avenge his assassin- 
ation succeeded to their voiceless sorrow. Oaths of 
terrible vengeance were sworn amid the most touch- 
ing and exciting scenes. They resolved to so avenge 
their hero's death as to strike terror into the stoutest 
and most nefarious heart. With the greatest diffi- 
culty their officers restrained them from immediately 
rushing upon the perpetration of deeds of violence 
and retaliation. For awhile it was feared that they 
would throw off all restraint, and inflict a summary 
vengeance upon the innocent people of Alexandria. 
The menacing; attitude of the bereaved Zouaves was 
for awhile really awful. But by the dint of persist- 
ent effort the officers succeeded in allavins: the storm. 

To their violent anger there succeeded the most 
overwhelming grief. After the lightning and thun- 
16 



186 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

der of the tempest there followed the shower of rain. 
Strong, brave uecks were bowed in sorrow. Eyes 
unused to weeping were overflowed with tears. 
Stern, rough natures bent before the gale of anguish 
that swept over them as the stem of the plant bends 
beneath the tempest. For awhile they were incon- 
solable. To their chieftain they were profoundly 
attached. He had wonderfully wrought upon their 
hearts, and he did much toward mellowing down 
their rough and craggy natures. Such had been 
his power over them that his was the best disciplined 
regiment then at Washington. He could have car- 
ried them further into an engagement, and held 
them longer before a galling fire, than any other 
commander. For him they were ever ready to obey 
any command, and endure any exposure or hardship. 
Consequently, these noble fellows felt their loss to be 
irreparable. " God bless him ! " they exclaimed in 
concert. " "We'll never have another friend like 
him," they cried in agony. 

" Our noble laddie's dead, Jim," mournfully ex- 
claimed one of the Zouaves to his companion, who 
had been temporarily absent. In sorrow and in 
silence they wept together. Colonel Ellsworth had 
won their hearts as they had never been won before. 
He convinced them that he was their friend. They 
feared him as an officer, but loved and trusted him 
as a father. They could only deplore their loss, re- 
member his many virtues, and avenge his death by 
fighting as he would have had them fight. Poor 
fellows ! Theirs was indeed a heavy loss. No one, 
however excellent, could fill Ellsworth's place, so no 



ELLSWORTH. 187 

one could handle Lis men as efficiently. This was 
fully demonstrated at the unfortunate battle of Bull 
Eun. * Had Ellswo:L'th lived, the Zouaves would have 
had a fairer, brighter, and more honorable record for 
that bloody day than they now have. The body had 
lost its controlling head, consequently at that lament- 
able conflict they failed to meet the expectation of 
their friends. It was their misfortune, not their 
fault, to want their beloved leader. They were 
ready to follow, but Ellsworth was not there to con- 
duct them. 

Thus mournfully closed the short, stirring, and 
eventful life of Elmer E. Ellsworth. In so brief a 
period no one ever accomplished more, or formed so 
large and influential a circle of friends. By a manly 
and heroic course of conduct he retained these 
friends to the last. To know him was to love ancl 
esteem him. He shared largely in the high regards 
of all classes. On him the people lavished the rich 
aflection of warm hearts, for he was one of the peo- 
ple, and their faithful representative. His wonderful 
career and his great achievements afford a most 
striking example of the certainty of success, when 
the native energies of the mind and body are di- 
rected to the attainment of a laudable object. As 
a plebeian, rising to the station and performing the 
functions of a patrician, he is a superb example 
of what a man can accomplish by persistent effort, 
even when in the obscure walks of life. Alone to 
his industry and heroic perseverance was he indebted 
for his wonderful success. 'No patron or friend rises 
up to divide the honor with him. He was a natural 



188 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

military leader. He felt the fires burning within 
him, and, like other great captains, he eagerly sought 
for avenues of outlet for them. Those avenues he 
found and enjoyed just long enough to prove that 
he was no charlatan, no ordinary adventurer, but a 
soldier of the most splendid abilities. 

But he is gone ! He was affectionately sepulchered 
by those for the vindication of whose rights he sac- 
rificed his life. His name has become a pleasant 
but mournful household word. His deeds are reg- 
istered in the catalogue with those of the great of 
our land. His career has been completed, the goal 
has been reached, and his destiny sealed. We now 
take an aifectionate leave of him as he sleeps by the 
side of his brave associate and friend, Colonel 
Yosburgh. 



BIG BETHEL. 189 



CHAPTER YI. 

Bia BETHEL. 

LOCALITIES, like men, often become greatly 
distinguished by the stirring scenes with which 
they stand connected. Tllise scenes acquire for 
and secure to them a world-wide notoriety, and a 
permanent position in history. Most, if not all, na- 
tions have such localities within their boundaries, 
and upon which national shrines are erected. Bel- 
gium has her "Waterloo, and Italy her Solferino, 
while England has her Hastings, France her Agin- 
court, Russia her Sebastopol, Prussia her Leipsic, 
and America her Saratoga and YorktOAvn. The 
strife of contending armies — the defeat of the one 
and the success of the other — has immortalized these 
and kindred localities. They serve as prominent 
landmarks in the great encyclopedia of history. 
They were crimsoned with human gore, while the 
graves of the dead and the suiFerings of the wounded 
attach to them the most mournful memories and the 
profoundest interest. With these pilgrim spots of 
nations and historians is associated the glory of 
the one or the infamy of the other people. Erom 
them nothing can divert the attention of the public, 
or diminish the popular esteem. 
But these are not all of the localities distinguished 



190 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

for deeds of valor and scenes of tlie fierce conflicts 
of demoniac passions. Had tlie somber catalogue 
closed with the modern additions of Magenta and 
Solferino, fortunate would it have been for the hu- 
man family, and especially for America. To the 
long, sad list of places in which the thunder of ar- 
tillery and rattle of musketry have been heard, and 
where the best and bravest have fallen in their prime, 
the names of others have recently been appended, 
and one of these is Big BeUiel. In this remarkable 
list it occupies a conspicuous but melancholy posi- 
tion. Big Bethel ! AVho does not pronounce the 
words vrith a shudder? The name is rather hissed 
than spoken through compressed lips ! The cheek 
of the patriot burns with shame, and his eye flashes 
w^ith indignation, at the recollection of the great 
disaster that befell the Federal army on that occa- 
sion ! Yet the event has bright and redeeming as- 
pects. 

But we will not anticipate any part of the narra- 
tive. Big Bethel is situated in the celebrated York- 
town Peninsula, Virginia. It is the peninsula in 
which the gallant Washington, aided by the brave 
French, defeated and captured Lord Cornwallis and 
his entire army. Big Bethel is fifteen miles west of 
Fortress Monroe. Little Bethel is three miles nearer 
the Fortress. Both these places derive their names 
from two different chapels. 

General Butler was in command of the Fortress. 
He is a native of Massachusetts. Early in life he 
selected the law as his profession. Possessing rare 
mental abilities, and superb rhetorical powers, he 



BIG BETHEL. 191 

soon rose to distinction at the Boston bar. His keen 
wit, his shrewd arguments, his popular manners, and 
his great insight into human nature, soon made him 
a favorite with the people. In his great abilities as a 
lawyer, and in his integrity as a public servant, the 
greatest confidence was placed. His stern adher- 
ence to what he considered right and expedient, 
secured the respect of all who could appreciate in- 
tegrity in conduct. IS^o one could charge him with 
inconsistency or the want of stability. To the ac- 
complishment of any thing he undertook he drove 
right straight on, regardless of difiiculties, making 
them all bend to his iron will. He knew not how 
to fail. Few had been more successful in the legal 
profession than he had when the rebel threats merged 
into open hostilities. He stood first among his peers 
at the Boston bar. 

"While the storm of rebellion was gathering, he 
did every thing consistent with manhood and the 
fundamental laws of the land, to conciliate the South 
and induce her to forego her suicidal scheme. He 
had been a life-long Democrat of the most rigid 
character. He stood by the insolent and exacting 
South, her interest, and her constitutional rights, till 
she had forfeited all by the committal of treason and 
the waging of actual war against the rightful gov- 
ernment. Then he became her most strenuous oppo- 
nent. He was one of the first of the distinguished 
Democrats to offer his services to the Federal Gov- 
ernment. At once he entered upon the work of 
crushing out the rebellion with a zeal and enthusi- 
asm as quenchless as the fires of a volcano. To the 



192 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

rescue of the endangered country lie devoted tlie 
energy and abilities with which he previously served 
the South. He has been prominent in his labors, 
schemes, and success, up to this time, 1864. Is"o 
man is more intensely hated by the Southern con- 
spirators, because no man has inflicted greater injury 
on the conspiracy. He was a successful worker 
against treason. Previous to the events we are 
about to relate, he had succeeded in wresting from 
their clutches Annapolis and its surroundings, and 
opening up communications from thence to Wash- 
ington. At a little later period he boldly throttled 
the mob of Baltimore, and forced the seditious into 
quietude, if not into obedience to the government. 

He was eminently qualified for the work in hand. 
His abilities, though always engaged in the civil 
pursuits of life, rendered him a fit commander for 
Fortress Monroe. At this time intelligence reached 
him that the insurgents were strongly fortifying 
themselves a short distance in his front. The object 
of such a bold movement was easily divined. Noth- 
ing had more deeply afiiicted the rebel chiefs than 
the loss of Fortress Monroe. It was the most im- 
portant post on the whole Southern coast. Conse- 
quently, to the accomplishment of nothing were 
they likely to address themselves with more vigor, 
than to the recovery of that stronghold. As those 
who commanded that fortress would command the 
whole peninsula, the rebel General Wise declared 
that it must be recaptured if it cost ten thousand 
lives. Then, the erection of this fortification was the 
first great move upon the military chess-board in 



BIG BETHEL. 193 

the game, the stake of which was Fortress Monroe. 
The defense and security of this important post were 
committed to General Butler. Though no fears of 
the rebels ever capturing it were entertained, yet 
it was deemed the best and wisest policy to dislodge 
them from that part of the peninsula before they 
secured a permanent footing at Big Bethel. 

To effect their dislodgment and, if possible, their 
capture. General Butler at once dispatched a bri- 
gade of about four thousand men, under the imme- 
diate command of Brigadier-General Pierce. Gen- 
eral Pierce was a native of Massachusetts. He 
came from the ranks of the people^ — the pursuits 
of civil life. Up to this period he had had but little 
military education, and no military experience. His 
previous military operations were very limited, con- 
fined alone to the annual parades of the Massachu- 
setts militia. He had never seen an engagement. 
He was quite ignorant of the evolutions of battal- 
ion and brigade drill. The roar of cannon, the rattle 
of small arms, or the yell of the combatants, had 
never fired his blood, nor warmed him into enthusi- 
asm upon the battle-field. His antecedents were of 
the most pacific character. Besides this, he lacked 
the ordinary courage and enterprise of a military 
leader. He sported his epaulets without possessing 
the qualities entitling him to them. Though a pure 
patriot, an intelligent and an excellent citizen, he had 
not, as the sad sequel of this enterprise will show, 
a solitary qualification for the great place he occu- 
pied. He led out to the rebel shambles, for indis- 
criminate slaughter, the Pirst, Second, and Third 
17 



194 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

"New York Hegiments, under the respective com- 
mands of Colonels Townsend, Duryea, and Bendix. 
To these were added a few detached companies of 
*' regulars/' volunteers, and a battery of a few small 
guns. 

On the evening of the 9th of June, 1861, these 
troops left their several camps to rendezvous at a 
designated place. Eeaching the vicinity of Little 
Bethel, occupied by the advance guard of the rebels, 
in the deep gloom of a moonless night, Colonel 
Bendix mistook Colonel Townsend's regiment for 
the enemy. The latter, marching in solid column, 
was fired into by the former with fatal effect. Here 
occurred the first great blunder and the first great 
catastrophe. It was a most untoward and inauspi- 
cious event. It was universally regarded as an ill 
omen. The soldiers could not persuade themselves 
that a General permitting a state of things leading 
to such disastrous results, could successfully lead 
them a2:ainst the enemv. 

The commanding General, knowing that the reg- 
iments would meet each other in the night, should 
have duly informed them of this, and concerted 
measures to prevent any mistake. But this was not 
done. By some means, through the gross neglect of 
some officer, this necessary precaution was not re- 
sorted to. Colonel Townsend made the signal 
ordered by his General, but Colonel Bendix, not 
being previously instructed, failed to apprehend its 
significance. As rebels were in the vicinity, Colonel 
Bendix was more likely to take the signaling regi- 
ment to be enemies than friends. This was actually 



Bia BETHEL. 195 

Iho case. The parties engaged in shooting each 
other were not to blame, as it was their duty to 
obey orders, not to devise plans and signals. 

Hearing the discharge of musketry occasioned by 
the unfortunate collision of Federal regiments, the 
rebels of Little Bethel took the alarm and precip- 
itately fled to the more secure and formidable works 
at Big Bethel; so that when the command of Gen- 
eral Pierce had reached the first and smaller for- 
tifications, no enemy was to be found. Thus an 
important part of the enterprise had already failed. 
^Nothing was left to our forces but to dismantle the 
rebel works at Little Bethel and push onward to the 
greater fortifications. This was done. 

Order was restored to the confused and bleeding 
ranks. The march was again resumed. The brigade 
pressed on to Big Bethel. Daylight was beginning 
to gild the eastern horizon. As no avant-guard or 
skirmishers were thrown out in advance of the main 
column, the first intimation that our troops had of 
their close proximity to the rebel intrenchments 
was the thunder of their cannon and the destruction 
of our men. General Pierce had led his men riHit 
into close and point-blank range of the rebel bat- 
teries. Xor did he attempt to remove them from 
their exposed position. There they were halted and 
permitted to stand for hours, shivering in the iron 
hail that mowed them down by scores. They w^ere 
deprived of a competent head and partially left to 
themselves. They were held in the teeth of a most 
murderous fire. But they shrank not. from the "iron 
storm that swept into their faces from the rebel ar- 



196 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

tillery. Brave as the best, tliey disdained to fly from 
before the betrayers of their country without orders, 
though they knew that their sufferings were fruitless 
of beneficial results. Calm and as self-possessed '^ as 
if on dress parade," their compressed lips and flashing 
eyes told of the mingled emotions of indignation, ex- 
asperation, and rage struggling for the mastery. They 
knew not which to detest or execrate the most, their 
incompetent leader or the insolent insurgents. Like 
blocks of granite they stood in their places. Brave, 
noble men ! They deserved a better fate and merited 
a better leader. Their General was not to be seen 
through all these fearful hours. He knew not what 
to do, and had no orders to give. He neither led his 
men forward, nor conducted them to a place of 
greater security. For the safety of his own precious 
person he sought shelter in the woods that flanked 
the rebel batteries, and that should have been the 
avenue of victory to our courageous troops. 

Just at this impressive conjuncture Lieutenant 
Greble came up with his single gun, and planted it 
right in front of the rebel breastworks, l^ow, as one 
primary object of this paper is to bear testimony to 
the Lieutenant's gallant conduct and effective work 
upon that sanguinary and memorable day, a detailed 
account of the honorable part he took in the battle 
will be given. 

Lieutenant Greble was a native of Pennsylvania, 
and was born in Philadelphia. He was the son of 
Edwin Greble, the wealthy proprietor of the large 
marble-works on "West Chestnut Street of the city of 
Brotherly Love. Lieutenant Greble was educated at 



BIO BETHEL. 197 

tiie "West Point Military Academy. He graduated 
with the highest honors of his class. At the occnr- 
rence of this hattle he was but twenty-seven years 
old, yet he exhibited the coolness, self-possession, 
and courage of the battle-scarred veteran. Endowed 
with rare capabilities, and enthusiastically devoted to 
his profession and country, he could not but dis- 
tinguish himself, however great and responsible his 
duties, and however disadvantageous his situation. 
Had he been Commander-in-chief instead of a hum- 
ble Lieutenant, we would have been spared the shame 
of defeat, and saved from the necessity of bemoan- 
ing the needless slaughter of so many brave men. 
An entirely new face would have been put on the 
whole affair. As it was, he came near rescuing us 
from the humiliation of disaster. Had he been 
placed at the head of our troops, history would have 
had to register far different results, while the emo- 
tions of the rebels would have been of a widely 
different character. He would have fallen upon the 
insurgent foe with the force of a crushing bolt, and 
sent them, reeling and bleeding, howling to their den 
of infamy. But as such speculations conjure up pain- 
ful emotions, they will not be continued. Alas ! he 
was only a Lieutenant. 

Halting his small battery, Lieutenant Greble's 
eyes were lighted up with the fierce fires of patriot- 
ism, his cheeks flushed, and his nostrils distended 
like those of the war-horse snuffing the battle from 
afar, as he looked out upon the enemy's intrench- 
ments. He was in his native element. He was made 
to play a distinguished part upon our battle-fields. 



198 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

As mucli attached to his beautiful gun as if it had 
been a thing of life and capable of returning his 
affection, he was not likely to leave it, unless re- 
moved a corpse or by violence. He was ordered to 
unlimber and open fire upon the enemy. It was the 
order for which he had been waiting for some mo- 
ments. With his Spartan band of eleven men he 
sprang to his gun and at once advanced upon the 
foe, alternately firing and moving until he stood 
within three hundred yards of the rebel redoubts. 

Soon after he commenced firing, he and his in- 
trepid men were left in an open and exposed posi- 
tion. The infantry had eventually sought some 
protection from the deadly missiles of the rebel 
rifled cannon. Lieutenant Greble had no support. 
His was an imminently critical position. A few 
resolute rebels could have rushed out from behind 
their breastworks and captured him and his gun ere 
the infantry could have come to his assistance. For- 
tunately for him, the foemen thought and acted 
diflerentl3^ His savage artillery assault upon their 
works intimidated them. They left him alone in his 
glory. His rapid and destructive fire taught them 
with what kind of a soldier they had to deal. They 
remained behind their strong intrenchments, and 
blazed away at him with their heavier artillery. 
All this time Lieutenant Greble was carrying death 
into their midst. He had silenced the most of their 
guns. Had General Pi6rce been present, and had 
he understood his business, all that was apparently 
necessary to have taken the ^entire rebel command 
was to march his forces upon the rebel works. But 



Bia BETHEL. 199 

he was not tliere, and this was not done. A portion 
of Colonel Dnryea's Zouaves made a movement upon 
the works, man^^ of whom reached their right flank, 
earnestly soliciting permission to storm them. But 
such permission was not given. ^N'o general officer 
competent to give such an order was present. Indeed 
none had been seen on that part of the field during 
the entire action. Fifteen hundred men had been 
lying upon the ground for an hour and forty min- 
utes, awaiting orders to march upon the enemy, 
but no such order came. The general officers alone 
were confused and panic-stricken. The ranks were 
cool, brave, eager, confident. Lions were led by a 
lamb. The legitimate results ensued. 

The skill and courage of this young Lieutenant 
rose into sublime proportions during the attack. 
That our troops escaped being cut to pieces or made 
prisoners, is wholly attributable to his bravery, 
amounting almost to temerity. The rebel cavalry 
were themselves sufficient to have captured half our 
army, and this they would have done, or attempted, 
had they not acquired a wholesome dread of Greble's 
well-handled gun. He stood the brunt of the battle 
for two hours, and saved our brigade. 

To form an adequate idea of his valuable services 
upon that memorable occasion, when ignorance 
reigned and imbecility commanded, and of the 
grandeur of the courage leading to such heroic acts, 
it must be borne in mind that four thousand rebels 
stood behind defensive works of the strongest char- 
acter, mounting ten or twelve guns, a portion of 
which were rifled. This solitary Lieutenant, with 



200 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

his solitary gun, kept the bhistering chivahy behind 
their intrenchments, and silenced most of their guns. 
This was the most superb fighting. It finds no par- 
allel in history. Balls and shell sang about his 
head like a hail-storm for multitude. He fearlessly 
worked on, sublimely towering above the imbecility 
that fettered the whole army. 

During this terriblQ and unequal contest several 
officers begged him to retreat. He positively re- 
fused. Lieutenant Butler rode up to him while 
fighting the whole rebel force with his fii-e remain- 
ing men, requested him to take care of himself, as 
did other officers, and dodge the balls. '' I never 
dodge!" indignantly replied the brave Lieutenant, 
^' and when I hear the notes of the bugle call a re- 
treat I shall retreat, hut not before.'' He was again 
left alone. 

Soon after this conversation the rebels made a 
sortie upon our forces. They rolled out from behind 
their breastworks like bees from a swarming hive. 
" Kow, Charley," said he to Captain Bartlett, avIio 
had just come up and was standing by his side, " I 
have something to fire at; just see how Pll make 
them scamper." He loaded his gun w^ith grape and 
canister, and hurled its contents into the dense 
ranks of the advancing rebels. They were taken by 
surprise. The discharge of cannon was like a clap 
of thunder in a clear sky. It was too much for 
their courage. They scattered and fled in a style 
not very creditable to them, and that was truly 
amusing. With one well-aimed discharge of grape 
and canister he drove the rebel hordes back, and 



BIG BETHEL. 201 

compelled tliem to seek shelter beliincl the Trails of 
their fortifications. 

Still unsupported, aiid no efforts being made to 
take the rebel works, Lieutenant Greble said, in a 
desponding tone, to Corporal Peoples, "All I can 
further do will be useless. Limber up the gun and 
take it away." Befoi*e this order was carried out 
he loaded up with grape and canister, to keep off 
the insurgents in the retreat that he saw inevitable. 
This last act had hardly been performed, and these 
last words had hardly been spoken, when a ball from 
the enemy's remaining rifled cannon struck him on 
the temple, carrying away a part of his head and 
face. He instantly fell, exclaiming, " 0, my gun ! " 
and died. These were his last utterances. He ceased 
at once to live and labor. 

In the early fall of this gallant officer and brave 
soldier the country sustained an irreparable loss. 
Though many brave men are found in the army, 
yet to fill his place will be very difficult. There 
were so few of this type of officers that the country 
had none to spare. With one brave officer less the 
rebellion had to be crushed. 

Lieutenant Greble was the hero of that disastrous 
battle. His pertinacious resistance kept the Gen- 
eral's head on his shoulders, besides preserving our 
army from destruction. Throughout the two hours 
fighting he sighted every gun, and examined with 
his glass the effects of every shot. His own men, 
the few who survived the ravages of that day, 
united in testifying that, strange as it might seem, 
every missile was lodged in the spot at which it was 



202 THE HEHOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

aimed. In all lie said and did, he manifested the 
qualities of the consummate commander and skillful 
artillerist. Up to that period no heavier damage 
had been inflicted upon the rebels than that which 
he there and then inflicted upon them. He com- 
pelled them to fear and respect the bravery, skill, 
and persistence of America's loyal soldiers. To so 
great an extent did they dread his single gun, that 
they did not leave their defenses till the Federal 
troops had been on the retreat for half an hour. 
They knew not that the brave Lieutenant could harm 
them no more. And when they did venture out, 
they followed at a very respectful distance. 

The retreat having been ordered by the General, 
and having already commenced, it was feared that 
Lieutenant Greble's body would be left on the field, 
as no orders had been given to remove it. Without 
orders, the gallant Captain G. W. Wilson, of the 
Troy regiment, determined to save both the body of 
the brave Lieutenant and the gun he so heroically 
fought, from the clutches of the insurgents. Con- 
sequently, repairing to where he fell, he had the 
body carefully laid upon the gun, and carried along 
with the retiring army. This was a noble deed, no- 
bly done, at the expense of great exertion and the 
hazard of his own life. Under ordinary circum- 
stances, it was nothing more than what the Captain 
should have done. ]Jut the circumstances surround- 
ing him were extraordinary, and he ran the risk of 
falling a victim to his own generosity. He and the 
small escort, with their sacred charge, were saved 
by their bold and determined course. 



Q 



Bia BETHEL. 20^ 

Tlie brave, loyal, and skillful artillerist is gone ! 
He was young to die ; but thus the young perish 
with the old. Like Ellsworth, Ward, and many 
others, he lived and fought just long enough to dis- 
cover his rare powers, and cause universal regret at 
his premature death. Ever}^ loyal heart was deeply 
touched with his gallantry, and greatty moved at his 
early departure. For Lieutenant Greble our admi- 
ration is unbounded. Out of gratitude to him for 
reflecting such honor upon the human race and 
shedding such luster upon the Federal arms, the 
people should not willingly permit his memory to 
be forgotten. ISToble man ! Would that he had sur- 
vived that bloody and disastrous day, that he might 
have received the reward justly due his great 
achievements ! But he did not. And now, he can 
be rewarded only by living in the hearts of his 
grateful countrymen. This he will do. In the 
hearts of all he will live. 

MAJOR THEODORE WINTHROP. 

The death of Lieutenant Greble did not measure 
the full extent of the calamities resulting from the 
wretchedly conducted attack upon Big Bethel. Like 
all imbecility in war, this miserable blunder was far- 
reaching in its untoward effects. Misfortune never 
comes alone or unattended. Of the truth of this 
adage, the events in front of Big Bethel intrench- 
ments stand out a monument of proof. One of the 
additional casualties of that sad day was the death 
of Major Theodore "Winthrop. 

Major Winthrop was born in !N'ew Haven, 1828. 



204 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION". 

From Ills earliest years lie was botli delicate and se- 
date. His mental powers were of unusual growth, 
vigor, and activity. He seemed born a student. 
His taste for books was the earliest developed. It 
grew with his growth, and as he advanced toward 
manhood it became the master passion of his soul. 
From the first his reading was of the widest range. 
He eagerly devoured every thing that fell in his way 
or on which he could lay his young hands. Soon 
his knowledge was w^onderful, and the vicacity and 
vigor of his mind were of the most surprising char- 
acter. 

At the tender age of sixteen, having gone through 
his preparatory studies in his native city, he matric- 
ulated in Yale College. While within these venera- 
ble, renowned, and classic walls, he greatly distin- 
guished himself. He deservedly stood at the head 
of all his classes. He was considered a prodigy, 
even among the great intellects of the country. 
His courteous deportment, his uniformly religious 
life, and his great literary feats rendered him very 
dear to his college associates. They felt certain that 
he would reflect honor and shed new luster upon 
literature and their Alma Mater. 

"While in college he succeeded in all his literary 
enterprises. He became a competitor for all its 
prizes, and won them with an ease and grace that 
astonished while it delighted those whom he had 
so clearly distanced. He was the favorite of both 
pupils and professors. While no one envied him 
his success, many rejoiced in his prosperity. 

But his vast intellectual powers and absorbing 



BIG BETHEL. 205 

literary tastes are not to be wondered at. He is a 
lineal descendant of a long and illustrious line 
of intellectual giants and accomplished scholars. 
President Edwards' great granddaughter was his 
mother. Among his maternal ancestors were to be 
found seven men who filled and honored the presi- 
dential chair of colleges. His connection with such 
ancestral greatness easily accounts for his own in- 
tellectual superiority. Young Winthrop simply in- 
herited what had belonged to and was distinctive 
of his progenitors on his mother's side. 

But his paternal ancestors were equally great and 
equally distinguished. The name of Winthrop 
stands connected with the earliest events of ^ew 
England history. The AYinthrops constitute a dis- 
tinguished and highly honorable family. They were 
ever the friends of the people, the defenders of the 
oppressed, the stern advocates of right and justice, 
and the supporters of freedom. From them the Rev- 
olutionary cause received a most vigorous support. 
Their love of liberty was ardent and intuitive, while 
their hatred of tyranny, in any form, was intense 
and uncompromising. Their intellectual superiority 
constituted them master spirits in the long and 
bloody contest between despotism and liberty. 
Through an entire century they were found sup- 
porting the claims of the people to the largest lib- 
erty compatible with order, security, and prosperity. 
In this distinguished family — distinguished for all 
that was lovely in piety, noble in manhood, charm- 
ing in intellect, elevating in patriotism, and immor- 
talizing in valor — many of whom passed through 



206 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

Revolutionary fires, there was no deterioration. The 
pure gold was never mixed with base alloy. Amid 
the various storms and vicissitudes of life they stood 
erect in all the majesty of truth and honor. From 
such a paternal ancestry did Theodore Winthrop de- 
rive his existence. And in no respect did he fall 
below his freedom-loving progenitors. 

He graduated in 1848. He was twenty years old. 
At this early age he launched out upon the rough 
and treacherous sea of life. He was soon to en- 
counter its storms, and be buifeted by its waves. 
Immediately after pronouncing his graduating thesis, 
he started for Europe. His constitution was natu- 
rally fragile, and the severe discipline to which he 
subjected himself while in college had rendered him 
still more feeble and greatly impaired in health. A 
tour through Europe was untertaken, to repair his 
wasted energies, and to recruit his exhausted vigor. 
Reaching the Albion Isle, he directed his steps to 
and protracted his stay at old classic Oxford. Here 
he was both pleased and profited. He took a ro- 
mantic and profound pleasure in lingering amid the 
halls and cloisters of that ancient seat of learning. 
In his vivid fancy he lived through the stirring 
scenes that have invested that university with more 
than historic interest. He remembered that from her 
portals emanated our pure, terse, sonorous, and vig- 
orous Anglo-Saxon language, and the pens, to which 
her tuition and discipline had imparted skill, from 
whence dropped our Anglo-Saxon literature. He 
mused upon the fact that the mightiest intellects that 
had blessed the world had been developed and fitted 



Bia BETHEL. 207 

for toil in her recitation-lialls. But his dream-hfe 
in Oxford could not last forever. 

Tearing himself away from the society and scenes 
he so much loved, and that were so congenial to his 
simple yet magnificent soul, he leisurely walked over 
the historic portions of Scotland. He visited Edin- 
burgh, and tarried awhile in Glasgow. From thence 
he went to the continent. Passing through Ger- 
many, France, and Switzerland, he improved his 
health, and greatly enlarged his vast stores of in- 
tellectual wealth. Traveling on foot, he enjoyed 
rare privileges of examining the countries through 
which he unhurriedly passed. He was a closely 
observing, carefully reflecting, and an acutely dis- 
criminating tourist, ever alive to the beautiful and 
grand in nature. He felt their power, bowed to their 
sway, and lived a life as pure, lofty, and etherial as 
the mountains he so much delighted in climbing. 

To ancient, renowned, and classic Greece he next 
turned his attention. He trod her soil with the en- 
thusiasm of a lover, and employed his time in the 
improvement of his privileges with the cool industry 
of the antiquarian. Athens existed for him in all 
her early grandeur, but in none of her decay. He 
saw the city of Pericles as it was when Pericles was 
its master and beautifier. He stood on Mars Hill, 
stirred with emotions and enraptured with visions 
kindred to those of the mighty intellects that had 
controlled that great people with their eloquence. 

But he could not prolong his stay in the city of 
Socrates and Plato. From thence he journeyed to 
weeping, fettered Italy. Of this remarkable country, 



208 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

its climate, its heroes, its struggles with despotism, 
its poets, its martyrs to liberty, its artists and orators, 
he had often read, thought, and dreamed. He now 
stood where Roman generals fought and conquered, 
where Dante dreamed, Galileo mused, and Ariosto 
sung and suffered. He lived a new life — a highly 
intellectual life. His reveries in the land of beau- 
tiful art, romance, and song, were filled with the 
fire and colored with the ardor of a highly appre- 
ciating mind. He loved Italy. He loved the paint- 
ings and sculptures of Italy. He loved the old, pure, 
grand, and lofty poetry of Italy. Italy had a his- 
tory of her own, that towered as far above the his- 
tory of other nations as her age exceeded that of 
any other people. Young Winthrop had studied 
that history. He had deeply meditated on the great 
events that it detailed. Long before he had as- 
cended the mountains, crossed the rivers, walked 
over the plains, or stood upon the towers of Italy, 
he had deeply sympathized with the oppressed Ital- 
ians. 'Eovi that sympathy was deepened and in- 
tensified. He profoundly deplored the decay into 
which that once great country had fallen. He be- 
held the hand of the oppressor and the results of 
his policy in the ruin that met him on every hand, 
and was seen in every thing. He invgked paralyz- 
ing anathemas upon the monsters who were crush- 
ing the soul of Italy, and thanked God that his home 
was in free, unoppressed America! He felt prouder 
of his native land than ever he did. His soul was 
moved as the mighty tempest moves the ocean. He 
mourned for Italy, and, had it been in his power, 



BIG BETHEL. 209 

he would have secured to the Italians the largest 
portion of freedom. 

But he was necessitated to forever take leave of 
the pure climate, blue skies, lovely landscapes, gor- 
geous cathedrals, princely mansions, stately palaces, 
enchanting picture-galleries, and charming cities of 
Italy, and hasten to more familiar but less attract- 
ive scenes in his own beloved America. With a 
sigh of regret he bade an adieu to the land distin- 
guished alike for that which is noble and ignoble, 
which pleases and offends, delights and disgusts, 
and that attracts and repels the pure and cultivated 
taste of man. 

While in Italy he formed the acquaintance and 
gained the confidence and friendship of Mr. W. II. 
Aspinwall, of ^N'ew York. He was engaged by the 
latter to undertake the tuition of his son. In the 
relation of preceptor, he, in company with his pupil, 
visited Europe the second time. 

After a second tour of half a year, young Win- 
throp returned from Europe to ^ew York, and 
entered the service of Mr. Aspinwall as a clerk. 
To the bare, uninviting walls of the counting-house 
and the dry details of business he was now confined. 
To his eager, unearthly, soaring spirit this was a 
severe trial — a great self-denial ; but the state of his 
health necessitated him to give up the education of 
young Aspinwall, and to engage in this plodding life. 

Having subsequently entered the emplo^mient of 
the Pacific Steamship Company, he went to and re- 
sided in Panama about two years as its agent. 
These were years of hard toil and severe suffering. 
18 



210 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

He was assailed "by the ravages of the fever raging 
at certain seasons upon . the Isthmus. Afterward, 
while traveling in his capacity of agent, he fell ill 
of the small-pox at Dallas, and was confined to hia 
bed for six weeks. "While here he experienced the 
tenderest care and kindest attentions from the stran- 
gers among whom he was thrown. This greatly 
mitigated the anguish of his condition, and rendered 
his state more tolerable. Yet he came near dying. 
To the last of his brief but brilliant life he re- 
tained a lively recollection of the great kindness of 
the people of Dallas. He often spoke of it with the 
deep emotions of one who fully appreciated such treat- 
ment, and made the return of profound gratitude. 

After returning to the United States, and engag- 
ing in various enterprises, he engaged in the study 
of law, in 1856. He was soon admitted to the bar. 
In 1857, after taking a prominent part in the Fre- 
mont campaign, he commenced the practice of law 
in St. Louis; but the unfavorableness of the climate 
was too great for his feeble constitution. Waning 
health induced him to return once more to 'New 
York. Here he again opened an office, but had so 
little aptitude for, and so little relish of, the prac- 
tice of law, that he finally abandoned it altogether. 
He was fully persuaded that he could not be a law- 
yer. It was not his vocation. Tor a difierent field, 
upon a difierent theater, he was naturally fitted. 

But all this while he was a close, ardent student 
of men and books. He ever retained the studious 
habits acquired in college, and the scholarly tastes 
always distinctive of him. He was an incessant 



BIG BETHEL. 211 

writer. He wrote frequently, regularly, daily. He 
wrote on a variety of subjects, in both prose and po- 
etry. But little of what he wrote ever saw the light. 
As modest as he was great, he shrank from appear- 
ing where so many labor to thrust themselves— in 
the public prints. 

But a new era was dawning upon him; he was 
about to enter upon a new life. The menaces and 
threats of Southern demagogues were ripening into 
open hostility. With the most intense interest and 
the liveliest solicitude, he watched the rapid prog- 
ress of alarming events. He early believed that 
hostilities were inevitable and unavoidable. In re- 
gard to the right and the wrong of the case, his 
mind had long been made up. He was a statesman. 
He was familiar with the grave questions that shook, 
with earthquake throes, our national fabric. He re- 
garded the Southern leaders as unscrupulous exact- 
ors, alike destitute of honor or respect for constitu- 
tional rights. He was resolved to go with the old flag. 
He would follow its guidance and share its destiny. 

At length the storm of treason burst in fury upon 
the nation. The holy Sabbath was saddened by the 
intelligence of the surrender of Fort Sumter and its 
heroic garrison. This was enough for Winthrop. 
The President had called for volunteers. With the 
boldness of a knight, on Monday morning, the 15th 
of April, he enrolled himself in the artillery corps 
of the ISTew York Seventh. Then he was in his 
native element, and seemed very happy. He felt 
that he could do something in that situation worthy 
himself and his country. 



212 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Ardently was he devoted to liis whole country — • 
all of America. He could not tolerate the idea of 
its dismemberment. He determined, when called 
on by events to decide his future course, to live only 
as a citizen of the America, the country his fathers 
secured to him, or die in the effort to destroy those 
who would despoil its unity. 

He was no interested partisan, controlled in his 
actions by the spoils of office. Than this, of him 
nothing more honorable can be affirmed. He was 
as true a patriot and pure a man as ever wielded a 
sword or led a charging squadron. Is'obly stood 
he erect amid the bestial and prostrate forms of 
mammon-worshipers. He disdained to touch their 
guilty gains, and shrank from herding with such 
deadly enemies of his country. Infinitely above all 
meanness of spirit, he was, as may be reasonably 
expected, both brave and disinterested. Inflexible 
in his opposition to professed politicians and wire- 
workers, he was never popular with partisan leaders. 
For their purposes he was too upright and scrupu- 
lous. Thev could not mold him to their likins:, nor 
use him to their advantage. They utterly failed to 
subsidize his great abilities to their selfish cause. 
They had to content themselves with political ord- 
nance of smaller caliber and less weight of metal. 
Of nothing was he prouder than of this, and by 
nothing could he have been more favorably com- 
mended to the people. He was not to be bought. 
He belonged to truth, to honor, and to his country. 
"With his country he was resolved to survive or 
perish. In all that was amiable in a citizen, com- 



BIG BETHEL. 213 

mendable in a patriot, and excellent in a scholar, he 
may have had, of his own age, a few equals, but no 
superiors. In the unmeasured magnitude and mag- 
nificence of his qualities of heart and head, he 
nearly, if not altogether, stood alone. 

In the early disquietudes of our country and the 
rebel attempts to subvert our government, one w^ould 
naturally look for such a patriot as "Winthrop in 
the front ranks of the army of defense. And so it 
was. In the front, at the -earliest, do we find him. 
Like the great Hampden, of England, he was one 
of the first to set out, armed and equipped, to 
throttle the enemies of his country. lie did not 
wait to see which side would be most popular, or 
which portion of the country would be likely to be 
victorious ; but as soon as he was fully satisfied that 
civil war was inevitable, unless the E'orth consented 
to be the slave of the South, he rose up in his might 
and girded himself for the struggle, determined that 
the right, the ^N'orth, should triumph. 

As has been already stated, he identified himself 
with the ISTew York Seventh. In response to the 
President's call for volunteers to defend the Federal 
Capital from the rapacious conspirators, Winthrop 
and that superb regiment immediately placed them- 
selves at his disposal. At once they took up their 
line of march for Washington. The rebels resolved 
to prevent them from reaching their destination in 
time to be of any utility to the government. The 
insurgents were well acquainted with the fighting 
qualities of this splendid regiment. They consid- 
ered it formidable, and, at least, equal to any three 



214 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

• 

regiments tliat tliey could bring against it. Placing 
a just estimate upon its martial capabilities and its 
importance to the Federal Government, tliey resorted 
to every expedient but that of battle to retard its 
progress, prolong its absence, and, if possible, keep 
it from reaching Washington till after its capture. 
They justly dreaded a regiment accompanied by 
such a battery of artillery as that of which Win- 
throp was a prominent officer. The Seventh had 
started out to crush tha enemies of liberty, and it 
was a matter of indifterence whether it encountered- 
them in or out of Washington. It overcame every 
obstacle that the rebels threw in its way. Where 
it could not travel on the cars, it moved on foot, and 
dragged its guns along by hand. It plunged into 
and forded streams, the bridges over which the 
secessionists had burned. It was a long, arduous, 
and hazardous march. It was a march of heroes. 
The men composing this regiment and engaged in 
this enterprise were patriots of dauntless hearts, de- 
termined to reach and save the Capital, or fall, try- 
ing, struggling by the way. They nobly succeeded. 
Every thing, secessionists and all, went down before 
their impetuous onset. Ordinary men would have 
signally failed; but they were not ordinary men. 
On footj armed to the teeth, carrying a complete 
camping outfit, they traversed many weary miles 
of the distance stretching from Annapolis to Wash- 
ington. Weary, hungry, exhausted, covered with 
dust and perspiration, with blistered hands and feet, 
they marched into Washington, and the Capital 
was saved. 



BIG BETHEL. 215 

This march from Annapolis to Washington is one 
of the most brilliant achievements of which there 
is any account. Indeed, its magnitude and import- 
ance can not be overrated. It brought deliverance 
to the metropolis and defeat to the insurgents. 

As has already been intimated, the battery belong- 
ing to this regiment was dragged along over many 
miles by human hands. One of the most constant, 
active, and efficient in this drudgery was Major 
Winthrop. Until his hands were blistered and 
bleeding, his limbs weary and aching, and his vigor 
quite gone, he was foremost in dragging along the 
howitzers of the Seventh ! This act at once placed 
him among the great and rising men of the age. 
JSTor did he disappoint the high expectations of his 
friends. He even exceeded them. His brave and 
manly course agreeably surprised all that knew 
him. 

During the period for which the gallant Seventh 
had volunteered to save the government, and until 
Washington was really secure, Winthrop remained 
with the regiment, and was one of its most labori- 
ous members. He brought to his new but con- 
genial calling all the strength of mind and force 
of will so characteristic of him in other pursuits. 
He assiduously studied the great science and art of 
warfare. He was laying up military knowledge for 
future use. He was making a life business of it. 
He Was -not satisfied to merely be a good soldier; 
he aspired to be a great warrior. For military 
success he had rare endowments. 

Enthusiastically attached to military pursuits, ho 



216 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

did not return with his regiment to "New York 
when it retired to private life. Freely and wholly 
he gave himself to the government, so long as it 
needed a soldier to destroy the most gigantic rebell- 
ion that ever cursed a nation. Major Winthrop 
was in for the war, whether long or short. He 
could not reconcile it with his sense of honor to 
retire to the quiet pursuits and seclusion of private 
life in the hour of his country's danger. Others 
might do so, and had done so, but he could not, 
and retain his self-respect. 

Consequently, Major Winthrop received an ap- 
pointment upon General Butler's staff, and became 
his military secretary. AVhile he lived, he filled 
this responsible, difficult, and laborious post with 
great acceptability. He gave entire satisfaction to 
his General. Though for the time being he was re- 
signedly filling a retired, inactive place, he was not 
content to remain in it. He felt that he was fitted 
for a more active sphere. He longed to be in the 
camp — on the battle-field. Cheerfully he looked for- 
ward to the period when he would occupy a posi- 
tion from which he could deal to the rebellion quick 
and heavy blows. In accordance with this desire 
he secured the rank and command of First Lieu- 
tenant in the Eegular Army. But upon the duties 
of this office he did not live to enter. When most 
fully prepared to act a noble part in the tragedy in 
progress, he was suddenly removed from the active 
scenes of life. Upon the unnatural and nefarious 
war, waged upon us by the wicked South, he for- 
ever closed his eyes. 



BIG BETHEL. 217 

Bold, fearless, and adventurous, he accompanied 
the expedition to Big Bethel, as a volunteer soldier. 
Having aided in concerting and perfecting the plan* 
of the attack, he was willing to risk his life in at- 
tempts to carry it out. He was eager to take part 
in dislodging the rebels from their strong fortifica- 
tions. Glowing with patriotic fire, and impelled by 
a courage that knew no intimidation, he was always 
to be found where the danger was the greatest and 
where his martial prowess was most Heeded. Like 
the fiery Murat, he loved to be where the enemy 
was the strongest and the work the most perilous. 
Prudently aspiring, he sought to distinguish him- 
self, and prove that he was worthy the place he oc- 
cupied. 

On reaching Big Bethel, he placed himself at the 
post of danger, and daring- the fight freely exposed 
his person to the thick-flying missiles of the enemy. 
Animpted by the noblest sentiments, he fearlessly 
moved among our troops, urging them on to deeds 
of daring by both example and exhortation. Per- 
fectly reckless of his life, or rather not thinking of 
himself at all, he moved about from point to point, 
doing all within his power to insure success to our 
arms. During the greater portion of the battle he 
escaped all harm from the rebel bullets, which fell 
thick as hail around him. Gaining confidence from 
previous impunity from injury, and carried away by 
the ardor of battle, he at length approached quite 
close to the rebel fortifications. Mounted upon his 
horse, he was seen by the rebels animating the 
soldiers, and was recognized as an officer by the 
19 



218 THE HEROES OF THE WAH FOR THE UMON. 

sliarp-shooters. It is highly probahle that they 
con.^idered him the commander-in-chief. Be this as 
it may, they determined to unhorse him. lie was 
holding our soldiers steady before the terrific fire 
of the rebel batteries and riflemen. If uninter- 
rupted, he seemed likely to succeed in leading them 
up into the rebel works. He was oblivious to the 
dangers then girdling him. He thought of but one 
thing, and that was victory. His attention was oc- 
cupied by but one object, and that was the defeat 
and capture of the rebels. There he sat upon his 
restive steed, in the very jaws of death, the imper- 
sonation of heroism! 'No sublimer scene could be 
presented to the mind's eye, " though it were the 
grandest that ever Hosa peopled with outlaws, or 
the sweetest over which Claude poured the mellow 
eftulgence of a setting sun," than that at that mo- 
ment presented by Major Winthrop. 

But the rebels were as intent upon preventing 
such a catastrophe as he was intent upon bringing it 
about. A rebel sharp-shooter mounted the walls of 
the fort, singled him out from among all the other 
officers and men, and drew on him the deadly aim 
of his trusty rifle. " One more effort, boys, and the 
day is ours," exclaimed Major Winthrop. A flash, 
a sharp report, and he fell back, dying, into the 
arms of a Vermont soldier! Major Winthrop was 
dead! The rebel bullet had entered the region of 
the heart. Its life-throbbings were hushed forever. 
He lay a corpse in sight of the rebel works ! 

As he fell near the close of the engagement, at 
the time it was impossible to remove his body to the 



BIG BETHEL. 219 

rear. He was left in tlie hands of liis murderers. 
For a few days after the battle his fate was wrapped 
in mystery. The statements respecting him were 
often both vague and contradictory. It was gen- 
erally hoped that nothing worse than imprisonment 
had befallen him. A favorite with all who knew 
him, the greatest solicitude was felt on his account. 
So superb an officer and so daring a soldier, as he 
proved himself upon that fearful day, could not 
easily be spared, nor easily or soon be forgotten. For 
him there was universal mourning, and about him 
was universal apprehension felt. The worst for him 
was feared. Deep gloom settled down upon the 
whole army. The painful uncertainty that hung 
over his fate increased the dejection that filled the 
camp. Those who saw him fall, and could have re- 
moved all doubts about his fate, fell, with his dead 
body, prisoners into the hands of the enemy. 

At length the suspense was terminated. The rebel 
authorities communicated to General Butler the fact 
that they had in their possession the dead body 
of Major Winthrop. This melancholy intelligence 
filled the hearts of his companions in arms with the 
profoundest grief. Their only consolation was, he 
had died a hero. He had shown himself one of the 
bravest of the brave on the field on which were so 
many brave men. He is gone, and as he took his 
departure, he wrapped himself in an imperishable 
mantle of glory ! A nation mourned his early death. 
His name is inseparably associated with the names 
of the illustrious who fell in their efibrts to destroy 
the Southern conspiracy. 



220 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Major "Wintlirop was liumaiie as well as brave. 
Soon after entering npon liis military career, he more 
clearly discerned the nature of the conflict between 
the two sections of the United States. The con- 
clusions at which he then arrived have been fully 
verified. He recognized slavery as the foul cause of 
the rebellion of the South against the North. He 
was too clear-headed, too well-informed, and too 
discerning to be cheated into a false and dangerous 
view by any considerations. He very distinctly per- 
ceived that the struggle going on between despotism 
and freedom was of the most vital character. Hence 
he says, ^' I see no end to this business. We must 
conquer the South. Afterward, we must be prepared 
to do its police in our behalf, and in behalf of its black 
jpapulation, whom this icar must, without precipitation, 
emancipate. We must hold the South as the metro- 
politan police holds I^Tew York. All this is inevi- 
table." How prophetic these words ! That he cor- 
rectly read the future no one in 1864 can question. 
His kind heart told what ought to be done, and his 
sagacity led him to see what ivould be done. 

He was ever the friend of the needy and sufliering, 
and, to the utmost of his ability, was ready to con- 
tribute to their relief. As one might rationally in- 
fer from the simplicity and purity of his character, 
with the degraded, forlorn, wretched '' contrabands" 
he ver}^ deeply sympathized. He was what the im- 
maculate Democracy of modern days would call an 
Abolitionist. From the lips of no one did the negro 
receive more cheering words, and by the eflbrts of 
no one was his condition more improved than by 



Bia BETHEL. 221 

his. To the utmost he exerted his rare gifts to di- 
minish the sufferings of the slaves, to supply their 
necessities, and to elevate their aspirations. ^Yhile 
he taught them to feel that they were men, and to 
act like men, he asked for and received contri- 
butions for their relief. One of his last acts, before 
setting out upon the expedition in which he lost his 
life, was the forwarding of a request for clothiDg to a 
lady of 'New York. The clothing came, but not soon 
enough for him to receive and distribute. In his 
death the poor '' contrabands " lost a special friend. 
Major Winthrop was not only distinguished as a 
pliilanthropist, but also as a scholar. His intellect- 
ual abilities w^ere of the highest order, and his liter- 
ary attainments were of the most respectable char- 
acter. His versatility of talent was remarkable. 
It is rare that a man can do more than one thing 
well at a time. It is only in one department of 
active life that man is most likely to excel. But 
Major Winthrop occupied the first rank as a soldier 
and the first rank as a scholar and author. Had he 
lived, he would have shone out in the literary firma- 
ment as a star of the very first magnitude. Young 
as he was, his literary productions place him upon 
a level with the most popular writers. His descrip- 
tive powers were unrivaled, and his ability to de- 
lineate characters was hardly ever surpassed. He 
possessed great grasp of thought and the liveliest 
imagination. His mental vision was strong, clear, 
and far-reaching, and his views of men and things 
were of the broadest and most liberal type. He 
was no sneering stoic. Of warm and generous im- 



222 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

pulses, liis noble heart went out kindly to all men, 
and he always had a word of cheer for the toiling 
multitude with whom he came in contact. The 
literary fires that he kindled, ere his lamp of life 
went out, are throwing their soft and radiant light 
across the pathway of thousands, happy in its en- 
joyment. Though his career w^as brief, it was brill- 
iant, useful, and has left permanent and salutary 
results as a legacy to mankind. In resplendent 
beauty, meteor-like, he shot across the mental firm- 
ament, delighting, with his intellectual corusca- 
tions, myriads of appreciating spectators, to be ex- 
tinguished in the night of the tomb in the twinkling 
of an eye. 

While wielding his flashing sword, his eloquent 
pen was not idle. He w^rote a " Narrative of the 
March of the i^ew York Seventh upon Washing- 
ton." This "j^arrative" appeared in and graced 
the pages of the "Atlantic Monthly." It was read 
with the greatest interest, avidity, and delight. The 
skillful strokes of a master-hand were seen in it. 
This " ITarrative " is graphic, picturesque, eloquent, 
and stirring; but it needs no eulogy from us to give 
it currency. Its intrinsic worth will secure it uni- 
versal favor with the intelligent and reading masses. 
He has shown how he could fill the warrior's place, 
and then how he could depict, in living language, 
the w^arrior's noble deeds. 

Besides this " I^arrative," Major Winthrop wrote 
three other and more elaborate works. By those who 
have perused them they are spoken of in the high- 
est terms of approval. These speaking, vivid ro- 



BIG BETHEL. 223 

mances are all we have as the fruits of that mighty 
intellect. Yet these, for one so variedly engaged, 
speak volumes for his industry, and are an earnest 
of what he would have accomplished had he lived. 
"With his heroic deeds, these works will perpetuate 
his memory, and keep it fresh and green in the 
recollection of the reading public. He is gone, but 
his name, with those of Baker, Ellsworth, Lyon, 
and Greble, is ineifaceably inscribed upon the scroll 
of history. 

The dense smoke of Big Bethel battle-field has 
cleared away. The wild confusion necessarily at- 
tending the first hours after the repulse has sub- 
sided. General Pierce has reached his head-quarters 
in safety, and his exhausted, chagrined, defeated, 
and exasperated men are in their camps. But some 
of the bravest and best that had moved out with 
them upon the preceding day were absent. They 
Yv^ere either cold and stiff in death, or writhing from 
the pain of deep, but honorable wounds. All felt 
the humiliation of the bloody repulse to the keenest 
extent. A v/ild cry of anguish and indignation went 
up from the whole loyal people. Their sorrow and 
mortification were painfully profound. 

In the end, good resulted from this serious disas- 
ter. Afterward, inexperienced, unscrupulous, and 
ambitious men found it much more difficult to 
obtrude themselves into important military com- 
mands — commands that should be intrusted alone 
to the most competent. 



224 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 



CHAPTER YII. 

rOIlT HENRY. 

THE winter of 1862 was tlie dreariest period 
ever experienced by the American people. 
They had passed through trying and dark seasons 
in the wars of 1776 and 1812, but this season had 
no parallel in the history of their previous suiier- 
ings.- Fort Sumter and its heroic garrison had fallen 
into the hands of the conspirators. Manassas, Ball's 
Bluff, Springfield, and Lexington, with all the hu- 
miliation of defeat and the bloody details of slaugh- 
ter, rout, and ruin, had passed into the record of 
nations. The great heart of the nation was throb- 
bing as if in the throes of social and political dis- 
solution. The envious eyes of the sordid world were 
upon us, hoping for, while they expected to witness 
our speedy overthrow. The very existence of a 
vastly more than Roman republic was apparently 
suspended upon the issue of an hour. In addition 
to the depressing effects of our reverses in the field, 
we had to bear up under the adverse and hostile 
feelings manifested by European cabinets. We had 
a right to expect the sympathy, if nothing more, of 
England and France. But we were disappointed — 
sadly disappointed. Instead of strengthening us 
by words of cheer or deeds of daring, with indecent 



FORT HENET. 225 

haste tliey acknowledged the conspirators a helliger- 
ent power. They made no attempt to conceal their 
hopes that the American nation would he broken 
into pieces. They even taunted us with the grave 
declaration that the " bubble of a republic had 
burst."* Every thing at home and abroad seemed 
to conspire against us. I^ever had a patriotic peo- 
ple a heavier load to bear. Hope appeared to ex- 
j)ire in many brave and manly hearts. Political 
and religious freedom was arraigned before the tri- 
bunal of the world, awaiting an adjudication, for 
weal or woe, reaching to the remotest ages. 

Apparently, nothing w^as done toward crushing 
out the wicked rebellion. Our armies upon the 
Potomac and Cumberland Pivers were housed in 
their winter-quarters, such as they were. But they 
were suftering and dying from disease. The pro- 
found quiet that reigned all along our extended 
lines was disturbed only by the announcements of 
the deaths in the various hospitals. Por loved ones * 
who fell not in battle, who would never return to 
their homes, the land was full of mourning. Had 
they fallen while grajDpling with the great foe of 
order, equality, and freedom, some consolation would 
have attended their loss. But this boon was denied 
the surviving friends. They sank beneath the in- 
fluence of the violent and protracted diseases of the 
camp. It was a dreary, densely dark period, but it 
soon proved to be the densely dark period preced- 
ing the approach of day. 

* This is the language of one of the distinguished members of the 
English House of Commons. The wish was father to the thought. 



226 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

The nation, tliongli desponding, was clamorous for 
active operations. This was impracticable, except 
upon a small scale, during the winter and earlj 
spring months. The roads were almost impassable 
for infantry, and much worse for artillery. The 
most of our troops were unseasoned to military life, 
and but partially drilled. These things were, to 
too great an extent, overlooked by the people. They 
knew that they were bequeathing their children 
freely to their country's cause, but the only fruits 
of such sacrifices were bereavement and sorrow. 
They felt that pressed to their burning lips was 
the cup of gall — nothing else. Their keen agony 
and painful suspense are known only to God. The 
grief-stricken and sinking heart earnestly asked, 
^'AYill the dawn of a better day ever gladden our 
vision? Will the dim twilight of hope ever illu- 
m.ine the dark future ? " 

To these eager inquiries of the people there came 
up, at length, a stirring response. The grave-like 
quietude of the winter was forever over. Our thou- 
sands of volunteers began to move. Activity was 
now as distinctive of our armies as had been their 
torpor during the winter months and impassable 
roads. The deep gloom that had settled down upon 
the loyal people began to rapidly recede befoi'e the 
radiant sun of our prosperity. 

The thunder of General Thomas's guns at Webb's 
Cross-roads awakened hope in every loyal heart, and 
filled it with joy. At this place the opening battle 
of the spring campaign had been fought, the pa- 
triot army was triumphant, and the rebel hordes 



FORT HENBT. 227 

were routed with great slaughter. In this spirited 
engagement General Zollicofler, in the prime of his 
proud manhood, one of the earliest traitors of Ten- 
nessee, in his wicked attempts to drag Kentucky 
out of the Union, fell, pierced to the heart by a 
Federal bullet. Zollicoffer commanded no more. 

Their leader dead upon the field, the rebels, after 
their defeat, became panic-stricken, and fled in alarm 
to their intrenchments. From these same intrench- 
ments, on the previous morning, the rebel troops, 
numerous, fresh, proud, defiant, confident of victory, 
and with their favorite General at their head, 
marched out, as they supposed, against a few ex- 
hausted regiments of Federal soldiers. They ex- 
pected that the expedition would be mne of recrea- 
tion rather than of hard fighthig. But, to their 
sorrow and disgrace, they found these few Federal 
regiments ready for the engagement and masters of 
the situation. General Thomas threw upon them 
his brave battalions, and rolled them back in con- 
fusion upon their strong fortifications on the banks 
of the Cumberland River. From thence, with 
heavy loss of every thing, he drove them across the 
river, and followed them far into the interior. The 
defeat of the insurgents was overwhelming; our 
victory was complete. 

This brilliant success brought us a jubilant day. 
The thick clouds of gloom and despondency were 
rifted, and streams of golden light flashed through 
the opening upon the people. The martial ability 
of Federal soldiers had been demonstrated, and they 
proved themselves able to cope with an equal num- 



228 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE TNIOIT. 

ber of rebels. The taunt of I^ortbern cowardice 
forever died away upon the lips of the insolent but 
defeated foe. It was universally felt in the loyal 
States that the fullest confidence could be reposed 
in Federal bayonets, ^one admitted this so fully 
as the rebels who fled in defeat and disorder before 
them. The loyal citizens breathed freer and felt 
happier. The fatal spell was broken, and the en- 
chanter fell to the earth. 

To this storm of grape and canister there suc- 
ceeded a temporary lull. For a brief season, sub- 
sequent to our triumph at Webb's Cross-roads, our 
troops rested, while the stupendous preparations for 
the summer campaign were pushed forward to an 
early completion with the greatest energy. In a 
few weeks from our first victory the heart of the 
nation was stirred to its utmost depth by the tidings 
of an additional triumph. Tlie brief calm that had 
succeeded the stir of Webb's Cross-roads battle was 
broken up by the thunder of Commodore Foote's 
cannon on the Tennessee River. Fort Henry had 
fallen into his hands, its defenders were made 
prisoners, and the munitions of war taken. At 
length the Northern people were entering upon the 
prosecution of the great work upon their hands. 
They perceived its magnitude and felt its vital im- 
portance. 

Fort Henry stands upon the east bank of the Ten- 
nessee River, about a mile above the head of Painter 
Creek Island, and very near the line dividing the 
state of Kentucky from that of Tennessee. The 
fort was situated in the latter state. This fort, 



FOUT HENRY. 229 

fhoTigli not constructed on a very extended scale, 
was both strong and formidable. It was erected 
with the greatest skill and care. It mounted seven- 
teen guns, both thirty-two and thirty-four pounders. 
They were all rifled. One of the guns was a superb 
ten-inch columbiad. Besides this, it was fully 
flanked by rifle-pits. In connection with its strong 
garrison, it had a heavy supporting force of infantry 
near at hand. To capture this fort would require 
no ordinary eflTort — no common fighting. Such, at 
least, was the judgment of those about to attack it. 

For the engagement every thing was ready. It 
was determined to attack the fort by both land and 
water. Of these naval and military forces Commo- 
dore Foote and General U. S. Grant were the chiefs. 
The latter was to co-operate, with his infantry, with 
the gun-boats of the former. 

For this purpose General McClernand's division 
of infantry was embarked at Cairo on the 3d of 
February, and landed on the banks of the Ten- 
nessee on the 4th, four miles north of the rebel 
works. At the same time, the fleet having preceded 
the advance of the land force, two gun-boats were 
ordered up the river to reconnoiter the rebel situa- 
tion, and feel the rebel strength. The boats, com- 
ing within sight of the fort, were opened upon by 
its guns, meeting with a very warm reception. This 
was precisely what the Commodore wanted. It re- 
vealed the precise locality of the rebel fort, and de- 
veloped the caliber and number of its cannon. 
"With this satisfactory^ intelligence the reconnoiter- 
ing boats returned. Ample preparations were made 



230 THE HEUOES OF THE WAR FOU THE UNIOIT. 

to successfully attack the rebel works. In a few 
days every thing was ready. Nothing now pre- 
vented them from moving at once. 

Constituting the fleet of gun-boats that gallantly 
moved up the Tennessee, were the Cincinnati^ (the 
flag-ship), the St. LouiSy the Conestoga, the Tylor, 
the Lexington, and the Essex. Of the six vessels, 
but three were partially iron-clad. The other three 
were but ordinary steamers, cut down and adapted 
to the gun-boat service. Though only of wooden 
material, they were quite formidable, and capable of 
gr<2at execution. The service that these wooden 
gun-boats have subsequently rendered our cause can 
not be too highlj' estimated. 

On the 6th of February, 1862, with the ^'flag- 
ship" in advance, on board of which was Commo- 
dore Foote, the fleet steadily moved up in order of 
battle to within one mile of the fort. Then they 
opened fire upon the rebels. The first shot from 
the bow-gun of the Cincinnati electrified our men, 
and carried de^h into the rebel garrison. Only the 
Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Essex were closely and 
actively engaged. To our opening shot the rebels 
quickly and zealouslj^ responded. Soon the firing 
grew rapid, hot, and furious. The air was full of 
hissing, exploding shells and whizzing balls. To 
the deafening thunder of the artillery there was no 
intermission. Undauntedly, and while rapidly firing, 
the gun-boats pressed on and up toward the fort 
until they came within tliree hundred yards of its 
embrasures. The dark mouths of its cannon could 
be seen, as they frowned savagely upon our daring 



rORT HENRY. 231 

patriots. Eeacliing this favorable position, our gun- 
boats cast anchor, determined to complete the work 
at close quarters. Then they poured into the fort 
the most terrific and destructive broadsides. Eound 
upon round of artillery thundered against its walls. 
The rebel guns were silenced by our well-aimed dis- 
charges. The rebel fire began to perceptibly slacken, 
and grew fainter and feebler, until their colors were 
torn down, and the white flag run up in their place. 
In a moment, all was as silent as the grave. The 
battle was over. The work of the expedition was 
accomplished, and the fort was ours! Our brave 
men could hardly trust the testimony of their own 
senses. They did not anticipate so easy a victory. 
They expected, from what the rebels had boastingly 
affirmed and reiterated, that they would have a 
long, stubborn, and bloody contest. They had grad- 
uated the persistence and courage of their antag- 
onists by their insolent vaunting. They supposed, as 
they were the chivalry, that they would fight so long 
as there was a man to stand to the guns. The in- 
surgents had pledged themselves to do just such 
fighting. The last man was to die in the ditch 
rather than surrender, even if it were on the icrong 
side, in the defense of Southern pretensions and 
Southern slavery. But, alas for the credit of the 
chivalry ! they did not fight as they had induced the 
world to expect. They could not withstand the fury 
of the Yankee's onset. They struck their colors to 
men whom they aft'ected to treat with scorn and re- 
gard with detestation. They humbly asked quarters 
of those whom they despised as Yandal hirelings. 



232 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

But as soon as our gallant men were satisfied 
that the aristocracy had hauled down their colors 
to them, and that the battle was already over, 
such a loud and prolonged shout as had never pre- 
viously awakened the echoes of the Tennessee hill^ 
went up from them. They had defeated the in- 
vincible chivalry on their own chosen ground, and 
compelled them to confess themselves vanquished. 
They had ample cause for rejoicing. The tidings 
of their victory would inspire every loyal citizen 
with fresh and vigorous hope, and carry joy through- 
out the loyal states. 

The "flag-ship" responded to the call of the. 
white flag by moving up to the fort. Then Gen- 
eral Tilghman, the commander of the rebel works, 
asked for a conditional surrender. 

" Your surrender must be wholly without con- 
ditions," promptly responded Commodore Foote, in 
a manner that permitted the entertaining of no 
doubt respecting his ]3urposes. 

" Then, if I must so surrender," said the rebel 
General, " I 'm pleased to do so to so gallant an 
officer." 

" You do perfectly right. General," replied Com- 
modore Foote; "but you should have blown my 
boats out of the water before I would have surren- 
dered to you." 

The rebel General, with apparent reluctance, gave 
lip his sword, and with it his officers, men, guns, 
ammunition, and commissary stores. The ceremony 
of surrender was both solemn and affecting. The 
rebels were deeply touched by it, for they knew not 



FORT HENRY. 233 

what treatment they should receive at the hands of 
our government — the government that they had 
contemned and betrayed. 

*'How coukl you find it in your heart to fight 
against the old flag?" Commodore Foote asked of 
General Tilghman. 

'' It was hard, sir," replied the rebel General, 
" but I had to go with my people." This was as 
coolly and deliberately announced as if he expected 
to dupe Commodore Foote, and be believed by the 
loyal people. 

To conciliate those whom he had egregiously 
wronged, to allay the scorn and tone down the in- 
dignation of his captors, he afiected the character 
of a victim of secessionism itself. The liberty of 
choice was wrested from him, and he was compelled 
to act, if we take his version of the case, as others 
dictated. He *' had to go with his people." He did 
not deny acting the part of a traitor ; nor did he, 
in any other way, attempt to palliate the atrocity of 
his conduct in firing upon and murdering the le- 
gitimate defenders of the Federal Government, but 
he essayed to justify the enormity of his crimes, and 
vindicate himself from the infamy of treason, by as- 
serting, without a blush of shame, that he " had to 
go loith his jpeoi^leJ^ Poor man 1 He was an in- 
voluntary conspirator ! But his unmanly attempt 
to shift the responsibility of his deeds from himself 
to the people would not do. It was a superficial 
expedient to which none but bad men would resort. 
He must have felt this himself. He must have 
been deeply conscious of the damning nature of his 
20 



234 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

conduct, else he would not have offered so trifling 
a justification of his course. He must have known 
that his deeds were utterly inexcusable. The ofier- 
ing of such an excuse for the darkest deed of which 
man can become guilty was a gross insult to the 
common sense of his captors. It was adding insult 
to injury, and placed him beyond the pale of man's 
ordinary forbearance with the erring. The ''people" 
had nothing to do with the inauguration of the re- 
bellion. They were not consulted at all. The am- 
bitious and unprincipled few, for their own aggrand- 
izement, forced the rebellion upon the people. This 
was the true state of the case. The people were 
forced into the rebel ranks, and compelled to bear 
the crushing burdens of the war. This General 
Tilghman knew perfectly well. Consequently, by 
his mean attempt to fix the responsibility of his 
monstrous treason upon others, he proves himself 
cowardly to the last degree — too imbecile to meet in a 
manly way and with a bold front the consequences 
of his voluntary deeds, and capable of implicating 
the most innocent to exonerate himself. Erom 
principle, from unparalleled depravity of heart, and 
from natural tastes, he was a secessionist. But he 
lacked the courage and honesty necessary to confess 
to the inheritance of the character he had the hardi- 
hood to acquire. 

General Tilghman's excuse for being found at the 
head of a rebel brigade embodies a palpable false- 
hood. Ko one has ever been compelled to assume 
the character and perform the work of a traitorous 
officer. Benedict Arnold did not more voluntarily 



FORT HENRY. 235 

desert liis country than General Tilglmian. They 
are alike in enormity of guilt, because their acts 
were free and unconstrained. The rebel leaders had 
no difficulty in securing officers for their military 
companies, regiments, and brigades. They could 
have secured the cheerful services of double the 
number necessary to command their armies. One- 
half^ at least, of the voluntary place-hunters in the 
army of Jcffi Davis were sent empty away. Of those 
Vv^ho hastened and offered their swords to the Con- 
federate Government, General Tilghman was one 
of the first and most eager. Consequently, he is a 
traitor, and alone responsible for his guilt. Yet 
he would have us believe that he reluctantly fired 
upon the old flag, and that the " people" compelled 
him to acts of treason. But history and posterity 
will exonerate the people, and alone hold him to 
be guilty. 

In an engagement of an hour and twenty minutes 
the great work of capturing the rebel fort was com- 
pleted. Though brief in duration, the action was 
severe in character. The battle was no child's play 
while the combatants were engaged with each other. 
The stoutest rebel heart quailed in the presence of 
the dense showers of missiles poured into the forti- 
fications. The bombardment was terrific. The 
Commodore had infused into his men his own he- 
roic and inflexible spirit. The Buckeye boys proved 
themselves worthy of the renown of their ancestors 
and the noble state from whence they came. It 
was their maiden battle, but they exhibited in it 
those excellent qualities that give victory to arms 



236 THE HEUOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

and stability to governments. The casualties occur- 
ring to our fleet were quite inconsiderable, compared 
with what might have been, and with the damage 
the rebels aimed to inflict upon it. 

The gun-boat Cincinnati, commanded by Lieuten- 
ant Stemble, a young, brave, skillful, and energetic 
ofiicer, fired one hundred and twentv-five rounds. 
The most of the shots had a telling eifect upon the 
rebel guns, breastworks, or artillerists. By . the 
rebel batteries the Cincinnati was struck thirtv-nine 
times. ITo essential injury whatever was done to 
the vessel, and but one man was killed. 

The St. Louis, under the control of Lieutenant 
Paulding, one of nature's noblemen, and as brave a 
man as ever walked a deck or commanded a crew, 
made her impress upon the rebel works. She was 
prominent for her daring throughout the bombard- 
ment. She fired upward of one hundred rounds. 
In no way was she injured, either in material or 
men. Hers was a prominent and noble part in the 
battle. During the engagement she pressed upon 
the rebel works as close as the Commodore would 
permit her. So eager, brave, and impetuous were 
all on board of her, that the curb of restraint had 
to be placed upon them. 

But the noble Essex, commanded by the gallant 
but unfortunate Porter, did not come out of the 
contest so whole, nor ' fare so well as the other two 
gun-boats. As she was stoutly and steadily pressing 
on into the teeth of the rebel batteries, and as she 
w^as about firing her tenth round, a solid shot from a 
rifled cannon, furnished by neutral England, entered 



FORT HENET. 237 

her side forward port, cut throngli the bulk-head 
and squarely through one of her boilers, besides 
seriously injuring her in other portions. In a mo- 
ment, before any eifort for escape or protection could 
be made, the vessel was filled with blinding, suffo- 
cating, and scalding steam. Its effects were most 
disastrous and fatal to nearly all on board. Thirty- 
two of her brave crew were either scalded to death 
or were so badly injured that they died soon after. 
Among the unfortunate victims of the effects of 
that rebel shot was Captain Porter himself. Though 
severely scalded, he eventually recovered. His Aid, 
S. B. Britton, a brave, noble, promising young man, 
fell at his side, mangled by the same shot. Had 
not this calamity befallen the Essex, the victory 
achieved would have been, all things considered, 
one of the o^randest on record. 

But it was glorious, notwithstanding this sad dis- 
aster. The length of the contest bears no compari- 
son nor proportion to the results and spoils. It orig- 
inated the necessity of the rebels moving their line 
further south, and compelled the speedy evacuation 
of Bowling Green, in Kentucky. General Polk 
was compelled, as he was thus outflanked, to evacu- 
ate his Gibraltar at Columbus, on the Mississippi 
Piver. 

On the surrender of Port Henry two rebel gen- 
erals, one colonel, two captains, and one hundred 
privates were taken by the victorious patriots. Sev- 
enteen excellent guns, many muskets, with great 
quantities of ammunition, were also captured. Their 
camp equipage wholly fell into our hands. The 



238 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

loss to the rebel canse was great, and the disaster 
severe and unexpected. 

The infantry, under General Grant, did not, as 
was purposed, reach the scene of action in time to 
take part in the struggle. Circumstances, over 
which he had no control, so retarded his movements 
that he did not reach the fort until the " Stars and 
Stripes" waved in triumph over it. Had his ar- 
rival accorded with that of the fleet of Commodore 
Foote, he could have so invested the rebel camp of 
infantry, the support of Fort Henry, as to have 
captured the entire command; but the guns of 
Commodore Foote gave them timely warning of 
what awaited them, and they fled precipitately, 
leaving the garrison to its fate. 

Commodoi-e Foote achieved this signal victory. 
He was a native of New England. At the inaugu- 
ration of the slaveholders' rebellion he was in the 
prime of manhood. He was of ordinary higlit ; his 
person moderately bulky; his form well developed; 
his movements vigorous and elastic. He possessed, 
in an eminent degree, the physical properties 
requisite for a life of constant toil and great expo- 
sure. His forehead was lofty and ample ; his brow 
thoughtful and pleasing, from under which an eye, 
when the mirror of emotions, looked out, rivaling 
the eagle's in brilliancy and keenness. His aspect 
was grave, but neither sullen nor severe. It did not 
repel, neither did it invite to oflensive familiarity. 
The whole contour of the man was both striking 
and singular. His appearance, in its respective par- 
ticulars, or-as a whole, indicated the inheritance of 



FOET HENRY. 239 

abilities " equal to the most arduous enterprise, and 
a fortitude not to be shaken by the severest re- 
verses." 

ISaturally superior to most men, he possessed, to 
an unusual degree, the qualities of a great com- 
mander. And, fortunately for him and his country, 
his education coincided with his natural aptitude. 
lie graduated from the United States J^aval Acad- 
emy at Annapolis, Maryland. While a student he 
manifested the greatest fondness for his nautical 
studies, and in them made great and substantial 
progress. The labors, enterprise, novelty, and dan- 
gers of a naval life possessed for him unusual 
charms. Soon he was an adept in all that pertained 
to the nautical sciences. His early proficiency and 
superior qualities of heart both astonished and de- 
lighted the renowned veterans of the American 
IN'avy. They felt that, in such hands, after they 
were gone, the credit, renown, and character of the 
navy would be both secure and perpetuated. They 
predicted that, at some future day, he Vv^ould take 
rank with the greatest of naval commanders. 

In his general deportment, in his manners, his 
habits, and spirit were found the indices of future 
greatness. A sedate thoughtfulness, far beyond his 
years, especiall}^ while young, characterized his en- 
tire life. He was prudent, cautious, shrewd, and 
mature in judgment. Yet with all this, within v/ere 
the pent-up fires of a volcano, bursting forth in 
grandeur when assailing an enemy. He was never 
in haste, never tardy, always in time, and among 
the first, if not the first, at the goal. He was a 



240 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE IJNIOIT. 

stranger to fear or intimidation, and every thing 
else, except that which adorns the patriot soldier 
or mantles with honor and glory the military 
chieftain. He talked little, but did much. He was 
a working commander, not' an aspiring schemer. 
He was as frank and as honest as he was brave and 
generous. For nothing distinctive of man did he 
cherish a stronger, intenser dislike than for profes- 
sional chicanery, unless it was for secessionism. 
He loathed the simulation of character, to the pos- 
session of which there was no real claim. For 
the real and substantial alone he had respect. For 
the empty glitter and pomp of things he felt the 
most supreme disgust. He believed in God with 
a living faith, in the itiiity of his country, and in 
dealing the rebels quick, heavy blows, that would 
cause them to stagger and fall to rise no more. He 
believed tliat there should be no temporizing policy 
adopted in dealing with the insurgents, but that 
they should be as relentlessly crushed out as the 
envenomed basilisk. Adopting this efficient theory, 
no one has been more successful in crushing the re- 
belhon than he was. Commodore Foote was right. 
If it was just and patriotic to oppose and defeat the 
insurgent South at all, it was right, just, and patri- 
otic to do so in the most efficient manner, and in 
the shortest time. Leniency in war is cruel, and, 
instead of saving, will destroy life. Prompt, ener- 
getic, and vigorous action is merciful when two na- 
tions are engaged in actual warfare. Could our 
armies have been thrown upon the rebel hordes 
with the crushing weight of an avalanche, the war 



FORT HENRY. 241 

would have been of brief continuance, witli an infi- 
nitely less loss of life than bas attended it. The 
Commodore was right. Whatever is worth doing 
at all, is worth doing well. It was upon this prin- 
ciple that he acted. He entered into this war with 
an earnest heartiness that was truly refreshing in 
those times of military supineness and sympathy 
with the traitors of the South. He did not mince 
matters, nor stand on nice, fine-spun distinctions, 
but fought the enemies of liberty with a vehemence, 
energy, and earnestness that gave him success where 
Buccess seemed, at best, very problematical. Conse- 
quently, in the navy his name became a tower of 
strength, and a terror to all secessionists. He al- 
ways conquered. 

But Commodore Foote was a good as well as a 
brave and great man. His piety was deep, sim- 
ple, unswerving, and Puritan-like in its stern con- 
sistency. 1^0 one ever questioned his sincerity, 
while all who knew him cherished for his Christian 
character the highest regard. He was as uniform 
in the manifestations of his Christian principles as 
the planets are in their revolutions about their sus- 
taining center. ]^or was this ostentatiously done. 
The ordinary acts of his every-day life were the 
media through which these were seen. He did not 
offend by indulging, on one day, in a violent spasm 
of religion, and, the next, disgust with his levity 
and want of common morality. His piety was an 
every-day affair, carried out in every day's actions. 

The evening preceding an engagement is, when 
known, a solemn occasion. It awakens earnest 
21 



242 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tliouglit, induces a careful review of the past, 
causes a careful scrutiny of the heart, and calls up 
long-forgotten memories, both pleasant and painful. 
The lingering suspense of such an occasion will 
place the courage and principles of any one on the 
rack. It is a season that thoroughly tests the quali- 
ties of the material entering the composition of man. 
The past dwindles into insignificance, and the future, 
pregnant with omens of disaster, becomes appalling 
in magnitude. Time rapidly recedes, and dreaded 
eternity comes on apace. He who can pass, un- 
moved or unmanned, through such a trial will, pass 
successfully through any ordeal, however severe it 
may be. If any thing could cause a man a restless, 
sleepless night, it would be, one would suppose, the 
thoughts of the carnage, rage, and uncertainty of the 
battle to occur at the ensuing dawn. 

But in no respect was Commodore Foote dis- 
turbed on the night preceding the bombardment 
and capture of Fort Henry. It was a new adven- 
ture upon which he was about to enter. The fight- 
ing qualities of his fleet had to be tested. He knew 
nothing positively about its powers of resistance. 
The battle was to be a great experiment. The first 
fire from the rebel guns might send him and his 
boat to the bottom of the river. In this uncertainty 
it is reasonable to suppose there would be much 
that would be disquieting. But it had no such effect 
upon Commodore Foote. He knew that on the fol- 
lowing day there would be a bloody battle. He 
was not the least disquieted by anxiety or any other 
emotion. " On that night," said he, afterward, 



FORT HENRY. 243 

" I slept as sweetly and prayed as fervently as ever 
I did in my life." iN"© doubt but what this was 
just as he stated it. He '^ slept sweetly," because 
he ^' prayed fervently." The former followed as a 
consequence of the other. His religion brought 

serenitv to his mind. 

1/ 

Soon after the capture of Fort Henry, Commodore 
Foote was at Paducah. Here he spent the Sabbath 
in religious practices, as was his custom. On that 
day he attended the sanctuary of the Lord. It 
was near, or quite, the hour for the commencement 
of the services when he entered. A large and re- 
s^oectable audience was in attendance. Moments 
swiftly sped by, but no minister arrived. At length 
a general impatience at having to wait so long be- 
gan to manifest itself. Then Commodore Foote 
sought one of the elders of the Church, and urged 
him to open and conduct the services. This he 
firmly declined. Fearing that the people would be 
wholly disappointed, Commodore Foote, from the 
impulse of the moment, and from his great dislike 
of tardiness, ascended the pulpit. He read an ap- 
propriate chapter from the Bible, sung a hymn, 
and then prayed in his usually fervent manner. He 
prayed with unction, with living faith, with impor- 
tunity, for the congregation, for the whole Church, 
for the world, and especially for bleeding, distracted, 
betrayed, desolated America. For the safety of his 
country he pleaded as if in the immediate presence of 
Him before whom seraphs vail their faces. It was 
a living, touching prayer, full of pathos and faith. 
The prayer ended, he arose and delivered an earn- 



244 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

est and instructive discourse from the passage : " Let 
not your hearts be troubled. Ye believe in God; 
beheve also in me." His remarks were pertinent, 
lucid, striking, and impressive. The people were 
both surprised and delighted. It was an unexpected 
treat, but none the less enjoyed for that. It was a 
season of rare, high interest — a season the distinct- 
ive features of which will not soon be forgotten 
by those present. 

The services closed, and the Commodore de- 
scended from the pulpit. The minister, who had 
arrived just as the text was read, approached and 
tendered him his thanks for so excellent a sermon. 
Unheeding the compliment paid him, he rebuked 
the minister for his tardiness, and censured him for 
not taking the pulpit at once upon his arrival. The 
minister admitted his fault, and promised due amend- 
ment. Thus it is seen that he could instruct in di- 
vine things with masterly facility, while he could 
command a fleet and conduct a battle with consum- 
mate skill. 

GENERAL LLOYD TILGHMAN. 

In writing the history of the Great Rebellion, or 
any part of it, it is indispensable, to a broad and 
accurate knowledge of its nature and character, 
to present the characters and deeds of the rebels 
who took a prominent part in the various scenes of 
the tragedy. General Tilghman conies under this 
head. He essayed to act a prominent part in the 
conspiracy convulsing the whole country. He was 
a native of Maryland — a traitor from a loyal, brave, 



FORT HENRY. 245 

and noble state. He entered West Point as a cadet 
in 1831. He graduated, July 1836, witli tlie rank 
and office of Second Lieutenant of the First Dra- 
goons, but resigned in September of the same year. 
Engaging in civil pursuits, he became a division 
engineer of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Rail- 
road in 1836. In 1840 he was found engaged in 
surveying the ISTorfolk and Wilmington Canal. 
Then he gave his services to the Eastern Shore and 
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroads. Like many other 
graduates from West Point, he assiduously addressed 
himself to civil pursuits, instead of continuing in 
the service of the government that educated him 
at its own expense. 

Upon the inauguration of the war with Mexico, 
he reappears in the Army of the United States as 
an Aid to General Twiggs, the hoary betrayer of 
Texas and the division of troops he commanded. 
He was present in, and fought at, the battles of 
Palo Alto and Eesaca de la Palma, the first of 
which was purely an artillery duel. Dissatisfied 
with so subordinate a position as that of Aid, he 
became the leader of a volunteer partisan band in 
Mexico. His inordinate self-esteem would not per- 
mit him to brook the restraints imposed upon him 
by having a superior. He appeared willing to take 
any position, so that no one was above or could 
command him. To him nothing was more distaste- 
ful than subordination. He thus proved himself de- 
ficient in the first quality of a good soldier — to know 
how to obey as well as to command. 

In 1847 he was appointed superintendent of the 



246 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

defenses at Matamoras. In the same 3^ear he secured 
a captaincy in Hugh's artilleiy regiment of vohm- 
teers. But in this command, as every-where else, 
he continued only until the novelty of the situation 
had worn off. As early as 1848 he is found acting 
as the principal assistant engineer of the Panama 
division of the Isthmus Railroad. 

Such is his public record from 1836 to 1848. His 
sad want of stability is strikingly manifested in his 
entire career. He was as unstable as vrater. He 
lacked the ability to persevere in any undertaking. 
To nothing did he adhere any length of time, unless 
it was his inordinate vanity. Constantly resigning 
and engaging in new pursuits, he accomplished lit- 
tle, if any thing, worthy his large pretensions. 'No 
element of character is so essential to success in 
any thing worth undertaking, or that in which an 
honorable man should engage, as the ability to per« 
severe, even amid the most adverse circumstances. 
It was this ability that made Washington the Father 
of his Country and the first General of his age. 
It was this ability that rendered Hannibal, the 
Carthaginian General, the scourge and conqueror 
of Italy. It was this ability that raised I^Tapoleon 
Bonaparte from obscurity and placed him on the 
throne of France. He who has this ability has suc- 
cess assured him ; but the w^ant of it is defeat, ruin, 
disaster. Of this ability General Tiighman was 
entirely destitute. He succeeded in nothing but 
in covering himself with infamy, and associating 
his memory with such wretches as Arnold, Floyd, 
Hunter, and Yancey. He was more indolent than 



TOUT HEIn^RY. 247 

tlie indolent citizens of the efleminated Soutli, and 
fond of luxuriant ease and leisure. To any active 
life he ever felt a strong aversion, and nothing could 
induce him to engage in ordinary pursuits of in- 
dustry but the various wants that pressed upon him. 
Had his wealth justilied it, he would have been a 
model of sloth and self-gratification. But he was 
poor, and necessitated to put forth his powers to 
save himself from want. 

As a commanding General, where his powers had 
free, unhampered scope, he miserably :^iiled. When 
he surrendered his fort, it was nearly as susceptible 
of defense as at the beginning of the bombardment. 
In the hands of such men nothing is safe, every 
thing in danger. With such officers our armies have 
been cursed more than their share, so that posts 
were surrendered without making any resistance 
whatever. But such men rajDidly gravitate to their 
true level, and finally disappear from public notice 
altogether. 

In the history of General Tilghman, from 1849 to 
1860, there is a blank. If he could make the years 
that followed the last date a blank, he might con- 
sider himself a most fortunate man. But he " had 
to go with his people." He was compelled to cover 
himself with the odium of the blackest, most in- 
excusable treason. His career of 1861 was the most 
disastrous of all the varied and distinct periods of 
his life. Deserted by his infantry — in order to com- 
mand whom he betrayed the government that edu- 
cated him — ^he was compelled to throw himself upon 
the mercy of the people and government he had so 



248 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

egregiously wronged. After the United States had 
prepared him to act the part of a man^ and ex- 
pected him to defend from insnlt the flag beneath 
which he partook of their noble charities, like a 
loathsome serpent, in imitation of many others 
ecpially destitnte of common manhood and common 
honesty, he foully deserted them and went over to 
the enemy ! 

He may not lack animal courage, but he does 
lack the better, higher, nobler elements of true 
manhood. His pretensions to aristocratic dignity 
and relations are as ill-founded as his arrogant 
claims to the ability to command an army. He may 
not be destitute of a certain kind of bravery; but 
he is destitute of that about the possession of which 
he boasts the most, and of which he is the proudest. 
He is not a patriot. His love of party is far in ad- 
vance of his love of country. He has none of the 
elements of true chivalry, a representative of which 
he claims to be. He pompously affects the character 
of both. He puts on the most repulsive airs, and 
acts with a levity that leads to the conclusion that 
he has no distinct idea of the enormity of his 
crimes. He does not seem to have the faintest con- 
ception of the poverty, suffering, and wretchedness 
that he is aiding in bringing upon the Southern 
states. He talked and acted as if engaged in holi- 
day amusements. 

As a prisoner upon the gun-boat Cincinnati, his 
deportment was both amusing and disgusting. He 
took for granted that his captors were his cringing 



FORT HENRY. 249 

inferiors, and acted accordingly. A newspaper cor- 
respondent respectfully approached him, and inquired 
bow to spell his name. 

" Sir, I do not desire that my name shall be made 
use of at all in connection with this afiair, except 
as it may appear in the reports of General Grant," 
he replied, with the utmost haughtiness, straighten- 
ing himself up to his greatest hight. 

"I only desired, sir," said the correspondent in 
the coolest manner, " I only desired, sir, to have it 
spelled correctly in the list of jprisoners that I am 
making out for the jwessJ^ 

" You will greatly oblige me," replied the crest- 
fallen General, " by not making mention of my 
name at all in your correspondence." 

This was strangely puerile in a General. It 
would have been inexcusable in a Southern ensign, 
fresh from the caresses of a partial and doting 
mother ; but such conduct in a General glorying in 
a regular military education, proud of his aristo- 
cratic connections and antecedents, was positively 
shameful. But the leading rebels are more assidu- 
ous in asserting their superiority to the Northerners 
than they are in supporting their bogus Confederacy. 
Conscious of their ignoble origin and the noble an-, 
cestry of the loyal ^N^ortli, they are delicately alive 
to every thing that touches their dignity, or offended 
with all who will not admit their high pretensions. 
General Tilghman is a fair specimen of this affected 
aristocracy, an aristocracy that had its origin in 
English kitchens, English stables, pauper retreats, 



250 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

work-houses, debtors' jails, the worst criminals, or 
from the general refuse of English society.*^ At 
first these noble scions of noble sires would hardly 
stoop to fight with the North. The "Northern 
hirelings" were not foemen worthy of their great 
powers. They were confident that one of the chiv- 
alry was competent to crush five " Northern mud- 
sills." Though they consented to fight the barbar- 
ous and cringing North, yet it was deeply mortifying 
to their aristocratic pride. They felt humbled by 
the dire necessity. But how has this great claim 
been sustained ? They have met us in the field, but 
never fairly without being defeated. The Northern 
soldiers have not only proved that they are, at least, 
the equals of the Southern soldiers in courage and 
in all that pertains to the successful warrior, but 
also their superiors in honor, humanity^ and fair 
dealing. Our troops have repeatedly routed their 
armies, but have never bayoneted or plundered their 
wounded, nor mutilated their dead, nor starved their 
prisoners. These superior beings have fled before 
our victorious arms, yielded to us their stores, filled 
our military prisons, and quietly ate the bread we 
gave them in charity. Such is the boasted chivalry 
and aristocracy of which General Tilghman was a 
conspicuous and representative member. 

Now, it may be thought that but little honor 
could accrue from the defeat and capture of such a 
General. This would be true had he been alone, or 

-••For proof of these statements, see Bancroft's "History of the 
United States of America." 



FORT HENRY. 251 

had liis command been like him; hut he had poor, 
brave men under him, who fought with the greatest 
valor and efficiency. They were foreign Germans, 
and fought with the discipline learned in their own 
land, and the persistency of veterans. All the credit 
of the resistance made to the attack of the Federal 
gun-boats is entirely due these brave artillerists, not 
to the General commanding. They were prepared 
for a prolonged and stubborn resistance. But Tilgh- 
man deserted his men, just as he had previously de- 
serted his country, and placed them in the hands of 
Commodore Foote. His garrison fought bravely, 
but their General commanded wretchedly. The 
great pluck and persistence of his artillerists made 
it a fierce and hotly-contested engagement of more 
than an hour's duration. To General Tilghman 
little more belongs than the dishonor of the sur- 
render. 

To close this paper without paying tributes to the 
courage, daring, patriotism, and skill of the officers 
and privates under Commodore Foote would be treat- 
ing them with great injustice. They acquitted 
themselves like men. They entered upon the bom- 
bardment, and walked up into the galling fire of 
the fort like veterans of a hundred battles. Their 
conduct was cool, brave, and efficient. Their pa- 
triotic ardor rendered them oblivious to every thing 
but to conquer. They never thought of defeat or 
surrender to the foe. Every gun-boat, with all on 
board, would have gone down to the bottom 
of the river ere they would have yielded to the in- 



252 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

surgents. Animated by such a resolution they were 
invincible. 

Commander Stemble, of the city of Cincinnati, 
was, on that occasion, the embodiment of a daunt- 
less officer of so formidable an engine of war. His 
numerous friends, his native city, have great reason 
to be proud of him. He carried his boat right up 
under the rebel guns. The rebel balls, like hail- 
stones, crashed against the sides of his vessel, but 
without inflicting any serious injury. His conduct 
on that great day furnished a practical illustration 
of the Great Expounder's motto, " I never take a 
step backward." From his advanced position he 
did not recede one foot until after taking possession 
of the fort. 

Of Lieutenant Paulding the same things may be 
affirmed. In the approach upon and bombardment 
of Fort Henry, he kept in the position assigned him 
by the flag-officer, a little in the rear of the flag- 
ship. He would have preferred being a little in 
advance of the flag-ship ; but it is the mark of a 
brave officer to rigidly obey the orders of his su- 
perior. This he did, proving himself the possessor 
of at least one element of martial greatness. Lieu- 
tenant Paulding fired but a few less rounds than 
the Cincinnati, l^ot a man was wounded on his 
vessel during the engagement. 

But time would fail us to speak of the brave, un- 
fortunate Porter, the daring and dasliing Phelps, the 
indomitable Given, and the heroic Shock. All did 
well, because all did their duty to the country. The 
rebels will never forget the terrible scare and thrash- 



FOET HENRY. 253 

ing these officers gave them on the memorable 6th. 
To the pilots, artillerists, and sailors all honor is 
justly clue. Though filling inferior stations, yet 
their work was as essential to success as that of the 
commander-in-chief. Too often the brave but hum- 
ble privates, who really perform the work, and en- 
dure the scathing of a battle, are either altogether 
overlooked, or noticed just enough to irritate, with- 
out answering any good end. The humblest soldier 
is as hungry for the approbation of those he serves 
as the major-generals, and as deserving of it, too. 
But, alas ! he is frequently forgotten, while the of- 
ficers, entirely out of harm's way, who do the least 
to secure the victory, get all the praise of an ex- 
ultant people. This is the hight of injustice, and 
the common soldier feels it to an extent that par- 
tially paralyzes his strong arm. But it is pleasant 
to reflect that there is an improvement in this re- 
spect. The claims of the common soldier to a re- 
spectful notice, to a public recognition of his noble 
bearing in the conflict, is being admitted. He is 
no more ignored. He is a power, and that power 
is felt. In this enlightened age " bayonets think." 
The pilots, on that day, hitherto accustomed to 
only the civil pursuits of life, acting in the most ex- 
posed positions on the gun-boats, displayed the 
highest qualities of the real soldier. They stood as 
steadily to their wheels, amid the whizzing balls and 
bursting shells, as if the responsibility of the whole 
enterprise rested upon their own shoulders. They 
planted their vessels wherever directed. The two 
pilots of the Essex were suflTocated at their posts by 



254 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE TJXION. 

the steam escaping from the perforated boiler. Yet 
their vakiable services were not suitably rewarded. 
"No promotion awaited them for their masterly dis- 
charge of duty, and their only incentive to fidelity 
was love of country. It is true that to the patriot 
this is sufiicient, but all are not on the same footing 
in this respect. Increased honors and augmented 
emolumerits await the efficient of&cer, but the pilot, 
the pivot upon which the destiny of his vessel turns, 
seeks his reward for gallant deeds in the sweet con- 
sciousness of having done his whole duty. "While 
we admit this to be the highest style of reward, we 
contend that there should be no difference in the 
treatment of equally brave and faithful men, 
wherever found. While the grateful applause of 
the people consecrates their fidelity and courage, 
the justice of government should lead it to reward 
all according to their merits. 

The artillerists of the gun-boats were more than 
ordinary men. They were not professional war- 
riors. Theirs was a specific engagement for a spe- 
cific purpose. They had left their civil pursuits to 
crush a huge insurrection, and save their valued 
rights from the ruin with which* they were threat- 
ened. They were as intelligent as brave. They 
were not simply drilled and breathing machines, 
moving mechanically at the will and nod of another. 
They were men — thinking men. They were deeply 
interested in the desperate game they were playing, 
and had in it their all at stake. If successful, they 
would share in the happy results of triumph ; but 
if defeated, ruin and slavery stared them in the face. 



FORT HENRY. 255 

Tliev were volunteer soldiers, free citizens of wealth, 
and influence when at home. On this occasion they 
introduced a new custom and a new style of mili- 
tary literature. The "crew" of the gun-boat Cin- 
cinnati published, after adopting, the following 
paper. It contains rare interest, and discovers the 
kind of men and minds constituting the patriot 
army : 

'' Gun-boat Louisville, Paducah, February ^ 1862. 

"Editors Commercial: 

" Please give the following publication in your paper, and 
oblige the crew of the gun-boat Cincinnati : 

" The crew of the gun-boat, having had a conference together, 
have come to the unanimous conclusion that they ought to ex- 
press their opinion in regard to their officers; they, therefore, re- 
epectfully tender to Captain Stemble and his oiucers their honor- 
able confidence in their abilitv to lead them into anv secesh strons:- 
hold, and come out victorious. They also return them thanks 
for their kind treatment while in their charge. These sentiments 
also apply to Commodore Foote, whose flag we carried." 

Such men, under such ofl&cers, with such a noble 
and inspiring cause to defend, must always be suc- 
cessful, or at least deserve to succeed. A country 
with such gallant and intelligent subjects has but 
little to apprehend from external foes, and must be 
secure in its possessions. On the Federal gun-boats 
were no gentlemen of leisure, but all were prom- 
inent actors in the events transpiring about them, 
and rendered themselves heroes, wholly devoted to 
the welfare of their native land and liberties. Not 
one of the men composing the Western fleet was 
an indiflerent spectator of what was occurring 
about him. All were fully alive to the great dis- 



256 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

aster with wliicli tlie country was threatened. With 
all this, at the juncture of which we w^rite, they 
were happy. They were American sovereigns, and 
had achieved a signal triumph. It was a season of 
great joy. 

A most touching incident occurred on hoard the 
disabled Essex. It affords a striking illustration of 
the courage and patriotism of our soldiery. As we 
have already stated, a rebel ball entered the boiler 
of the Essex, and, the steam escaping, many were 
scalded to death, and others were in a dying state. 
Several lingered in agony to the next day. One of 
these, from Illinois, was apparently doing well. 
Over his parboiled flesh flax-seed oil and flour had 
been spread for protection from the action of the 
atmosphere. He was lying upon the lower deck 
with his sufiering comrades. The news of the sur- 
render of the fort reached his ears. He sprang to 
his feet with the agility of an athlete, hurried to the 
upper deck, and earnestly gazed out upon the fort 
before him. His bloodshot and death-dimmed eyes 
caught sight of the "Stars and Stripes" as they 
waved over the works, w^here, a few moments be- 
fore, the rebel rag had floated. Tears started from 
his eyes. His manly chest heaved with emotions 
too huge for utterance. For a moment or two he 
stood in this entranced attitude, his eyes fixed upon 
the old and endeared flag, while the hot tears 
chased each other rapidly down his swollen cheeks. 
It was a moment of the most intense and absorbinor 
interest. Drawing from his body the blanket in 
which he was wrapped, and swinging it around his 



FORT HENRY. 257 

head, lie lustily cheered the flag, and fell fainting 
to the deck floor! In an insensible state he was 
carried to his hammock. But few dry eyes were 
witnesses of this thrilling scene. A dying man 
shouting over the victory that had cost him his life, 
and spending his last breath in cheering the flag of 
his menaced and betrayed country, forms a picture 
such as could be seen only in free America, and has 
in it the most sublime elements! It was too much 
for the most stoical to witness unmoved. The 
stoutest hearts were deeply aflected, and eyes un- 
used to the melting mood were bathed in tears! 
Among those present was not one but what fully 
appreciated and participated in the dying sailor's 
emotions. Poor fellow! He no doubt felt that, 
while gazing upon it, it would be the last time that 
he should look upon the glorious colors under which 
he marched to renown and death. The vital spark 
that had blazed out in unusual splendor for a mo- 
ment, exj^ended itself in that last patriotic act, and 
was extinguished forever ! He did not rally again. 
Ere another sun looked out upon the peaceful 
scene, his brave and loyal spirit quitted its frail 
and mortal dwelling-place. His sorrowing associates 
buried him with the noble fellows who fell in the 
sanae glorious cause and in the same melancholy 
manner. Such is the patriotism, lofty and alone in 
its splendor, that is fighting the battles of liberty, 
and giving its life for the life of the country! Of 
such a nol)le son and citizen Illinois may well be 
proud. His splendid devotion to his flag has ren- 
dered him immortal, and reflected the highest credit 
22 



258 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

upon the state from whence he came. Of the sol- 
diers of the Union army he is only a fair and prom- 
inent representative. They form the best, the no- 
blest, the bravest class of men under the whole 
heavens. 



GENERAL LANDER. 259 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GENERAL F. W. LANDER.* 

W'HEK the most malignant passions of the hu- 
man heart are rampant and let loose upon 
community under the specious form of war, then 
the best, the bravest, and the most talented, because 
always in the front, are the first to sink beneath 
the impetuous torrent. Our most skillful, energetic, 
and reliable officers have fallen, one after another, 
victims to the blind fury of the rebellion that de- 
vastated some, of the fairest portions of the Ameri- 
can continent. Like the horse-leech, this monster 
was insatiable, ever gorging itself with human gore 
and human agony, yet constantly crying, " Give, 
give !" Colonel Ellsworth was the earliest of the 
distinguished sacrifices to Southern treason. Then 
followed the gallant Cameron, the daring Winthrop, 

*I would take the present occasion to acknowledge the assist- 
ance that I have received from the Cincinnati Daily Commercial 
in the preparation of this and all other papers in this volume. Its 
able and instructive editorials, its varied, interesting, and reliable 
correspondence, and its judicious and entertaining selections, with 
the noble and immovable stand it has taken in favor of the abso- 
lute suppression of the rebellion, make it one of the best, if not 
the very best, papers published in the United States. I take pleas- 
ure in testifying to the pleasure and profit its constant perusal 
for three years has afforded me. 



260 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

and the brave and dashing Ljon. So keen was the 
scent and so rapacious the appetite of this hydra, 
hideous with the deformity of crime, that the best 
of freedom's champions were sought and singled 
out as its holocaust. It determined in its wrath 
not to be satisfied until loval America was like 
^Niobe — childless and overwhelmed with grief. 

For many of her illustrious and loyal sons has 
America had to weep. And prominent among the 
names of her distinguished dead, and for whom she 
profoundly mourned, is that of General Frederic W. 
Lander. The sad intelligence of his early death 
reached us when we were confidently expecting to 
hear that he had achieved a signal victory over 
Stonewall Jackson. But, alas! instead of conquer- 
ing Jackson, Death laid him at his feet with one 
stroke of his flashing cimeter. The fall of this gal- 
lant General awakened feelings of no ordinary grief 
in the public heart. The news of this great loss fell 
upon us with the crushing eflect of a disaster in the 
field. 

General Lander had but reached the prime of 
manhood when summoned to another clime. His 
great, varied, and rare powers existed in their early, 
fresh, and unexhausted vigor. But he had lived long 
enough to engrave his features, deeds, daring, and 
fame upon the immortal pages of history. General 
Lander was an extraordinary man in every respect 
in which you might contemplate him. Li person 
he was tall, elastic in movement, and perfectly 
proportioned — a veritable Adonis. His physical 
strength was prodigious and hero-like, while hia 



GENERAL LANDER. 261 

activity was as ceaseless as it was unusual. He 
never seemed to tire, like other men. If what his- 
torians say is true, in this characteristic he bore a 
striking resemblance to the first J^apoleon. When 
others were exhausted and panting with fatigue, the 
General's powers were still fresh, and ready to turn 
to the performance of any work within the com- 
pass of humany capabilities. His bearing was al- 
ways impressive and manly, his courage majestic 
and dignified. He was one of the noblest and most 
fearless of the great spirits that gathered around 
our insulted flag for its defense and vindication. 
His whole nature was more etherial than earthly. 
His remarkable countenance was expressive of in- 
telligence, bravery, fortitude, and deep sensibility. 
Though fierce and terrible to his foes upon the 
battle-field, yet to his friends he was as tender and 
sympathetic as a lady. He knew nothing of the 
jealous and vindictive feelings that blacken the 
character and crush the hopes of incompetent aspir- 
ants. He could no more be cruel than he could 
be a coward. While he would crush the enemy 
of his flag with one hand, he would bind up his 
wounds with the other. He was on^e of the most 
pure-minded, unselfish, and disinterested Generals 
that ever commanded a brigade, or with which an 
army was ever blest. He stood infinitel}^ above, 
and looked down with scorn and pity upon the 
horde of hungry oflice-hunters who dail}^ throng 
the offices of heads of departments of the govern- 
ment. 

Of a commanding person and attractive presence, 



262 THE HEROES OE THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

no one could ever see and tlien forget him. The 
sensations of those who saw him for the first time 
were made up of wonder and surprise. "While 
in "West Virginia, no one so deeply and favorably 
inipressed the people as he did. This, too, was 
accomplished without an effort on his part. By 
strano^ers he was alwavs taken for the commander- 
in-chief. Having a singularly noble and handsome 
face, and distinguished for Ins s})lendid martial bear- 
ing, the masses conchided that as he looked the most 
of the General of all the officers, he ought to have 
been the chief.-'^ 

From his earliest years. Lander displayed the 
possession of much more than ordinary intellectual 
powers. His interior force was constantly showing 
itself, in one way or the other, when a mere boy. 
When practicable, he always expressed a decided 
preference for those sports and recreations that re- 
quired the greatest amount of physical power and 
activity. Nothing was more congenial to his na- 
ture, nor put him into a better humor, than con- 
stant activity. Enforced quietude had upon him, 
when even quite young, a most depressing efi'ect. 
It rendered him morose and petulant. The wide 
expanse of the measureless ether is no more essen- 



"••• So soon did the loyal people of West Virginia learn to love 
and trust General Lander, that they formed a regiment of Yolun- 
teers, and offered him the command. He hastened to Washington, 
and offered the government the services of one of the noblest and 
hest regiments of West Virginians. But the generous offer was 
declined through the influence of General Scott. He was afraid 
that its acceptance "would increase the Southern hatred, and pro- 
voke unnecessary opposition to the Federal Government!" 



GENERAL LANDER, 263 

tial to the healtli and vigor of the eagle than un- 
restrained activity was to young Lander. This pe- 
culiar and distinctive characteristic grew with his 
growth and matured with his maturity. By the 
time he attained to manhood, he was, indeed, an 
actor. On whatever he did he impressed his 
own individuality. The great rapidity with which 
he disposed of business, and the vigorous prompt- 
ness with which he met his engagements, both at- 
tracted attention and secured him numerous friends. 
He was a worker. He loved to work for its own 
sake — for the pleasure it afforded himself and the 
benefits it secured to others. 

Yery early in life Lander was actively engaged 
in public business. In whatever he employed his 
powers he succeeded most admirably. About this 
time his rare powers were seen and fully appre- 
ciated by the Federal Government. His tireless 
energy, sleepless vigilance, fine abilities, and strong 
moral sense eminently fitted him for a public serv- 
ant. The government thought that it could not 
afford to forego the aid of one so highly qualified 
for any post of responsibility. Consequently, when 
the great expedition to explore the overland route 
to the Pacific was organized, he was placed in it 
as one of its leaders. The services of no better man 
could have been secured for the place. He filled it 
to perfection. The place and occupant were mu- 
tually adapted. He shrank from none of its duties, 
nor murmured at any of its hardships. In prose- 
cuting that expedition he was in his best ele- 
ments — precisely suited. In all the labors, ex- 



264 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

posures, and clangers of tlie exploration lie took a 
prominent part. Though an officer, with the fa- 
cilities to render his situation very agreeable, easy, 
and even luxuriant, yet he disdained doing such a 
thing, but readily and cheerfully submitted to all 
the deprivations and sufferings experienced by the 
humblest of his men. He traveled with them on 
foot, partook of the same rations, and pillowed his 
head with them upon the cold bosom of earth, 
covered by the far-off heavens. He became one of 
the party, identified himself with it in every re- 
spect, and shared with his associates in every event 
peculiar to their pursuit. He never stooped to the 
indignity of letting his men know, nor ever made 
them feel, that he was an officer, as is often the 
case, by inflicting petty restraints and subjecting 
them to petty annoyance^^._ He surrendered such 
an ignoble work to the little minds of newly-fledged 
lieutenants. Yet he was ever a strict, rigid, m- 
Jiexible disciplinarian. He never minced matters 
when it involved a principle of subordination. He 
visited the severest punishment upon the insubordi- 
nate. Success and safety depended upon the com- 
pleteness of the one and the prompt infliction of 
the other. His official relation to that expedition 
was seen principally in his bearing the heaviest 
burdens, patiently enduring the severest trials, and 
taking the advance in seasons of danger and peril. 
Consequently, his men were indissolubly wedded 
to him. They loved him as a father — feared him 
as a minister of justice. To secure his smile of ap- 
proval, his word of commendation, they were ready 



GENERAL LANDER. 265 

to risk limb or life. Such was their respect for 
and confidence in him that, without a dissent- 
ing voice, they would have cordially followed him 
through the greatest difficulties and into the great- 
est dangers. He was their military model, their 
guiding star. The transcendent results of that ex- 
pedition fully attest his power over, and his con- 
summate ability to lead men. 

From the snow-covered peaks of the Rocky 
Mountains and the emerald plains of California he 
returned to the United States a hero. His laurels. 
were abundant and fresh. In success as an ex- 
plorer, in inventive genius, in powers of endurance, 
in ability to create, and indomitable energy, he was 
second to no one, not even to the illustrious " Path- 
finder." The government and people, whom he had 
so ably and faithfully served, did not permit his 
capabilities to pass unnoticed nor his merits and 
labor to go unrewarded. The nation, having regis- 
tered his name among its benefactors, amply com- 
pensated his noble toil. As Colonel Lander, his 
name first became familiar to American ears, and 
that name they will not willingly let die. 

Reposing in the shadow of the Capital upon his 
honestly earned renown, the next conspicuous place 
in which he is seen is that of "second" to the 
Hon. Mr. Potter, of Wisconsin, in his difficulty with 
the notorious Roger A. Pry or, the bully of the 
P. F.'s of Virginia. Both of these men were mem- 
bers of the lower House of Congress. Roth . were 
men of talent and culture. Both were politicians. 
Both aspired to the character and claimed the wis- 
23 



266 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

dom of statesmen. Botli were held responsible for 
maintaining, by tlieir conduct, the dignity of the 
body to which they belonged. But here the re- 
semblance ceases. Potter was from a free, Pryor 
from a slave, state. The former was strenuously 
opposed to involuntary servitude, the latter was its 
strenuous advocate. In moral sentiments, in polit- 
ical economy, in statesmanship, and in attachment 
to the free institutions of the United States, they 
were a perfect contrast. They represented the ex- 
tremes of Northern and Southern sentiment. They 
stood at the opposite poles of the political globe. 

Mr. Potter was Pryor' s superior in every gentle- 
manly respect. He was mild, modest, and unassum- 
ing, but as inflexible as steel in his adherence to 
principles — to what he conceived to be right. The 
grave, sedate, and intelligent Representative of a 
sober, industrious, and intelligent people, nothing 
could swerve him from a faithful reflection of their 
political sentiments. Faithful to his pledges, and 
honest in all his actions, his constant aim was to 
represent the voice and wishes of his honest and 
talented constituency. 

He was especially charged with the duty of re- 
pressing the vaulting ambition of the South, and to 
assist in interposing efl'ectual barriers to her en- 
croachments upon the soil sacred alone to the tread 
of the feet of freemen. Coinciding with his con- 
stituency in these important matters, he came to 
"Washington full of his subject, determined, at every 
cost, to carry out those principles in the halls of 
Congress. He was quite competent for his work. 



GENERAL LANDER. 267 

His talents were of the most commanding order, 
yet more solid than showy. His wit, though not 
brilliant, was keen, his sarcasm biting, his satire 
withering, and his rebukes scathing. As a states- 
man, he wa's very respectable in ability, and in hon- 
esty he stood among the most eminent. 

It was easily seen, at the opening of the session of 
Congress, that the all-engrossing topic would be the 
claims of Southern slavery. Men had come up to 
the Capital with their minds heated by the discus- 
sion of the subject among their constituents. With 
regard to the final issue, the minds of many Avere 
much troubled. The South was intent upon push- 
ing slavery to the furthest limits of our territory, 
where it would at all be profitable. Many from the 
free states were equally intent upon confining the 
curse of slavery to the extent of country it then 
occupied and blighted. One of the most prominent 
and influential of these was Mr. Potter, of Wiscon- 
sin. To prevent the blight and mildew of African 
slavery from spreading over any of the virgin soil 
of the West was a purpose as strongly fixed in his 
soul as the vital principle itself. They might take 
his life, but they never could induce him, by appeal 
or menace, to change his purposes or leave his well- 
chosen ground. He w^as prepared for a stormy ses- 
sion — a session in which all the bad passions of the 
human heart would be uppermost. ~^ot w^as he dis- 
appointed 

Roger A. Pryor hailed from the Old Dominion. 
He was proud of his native state, not so much on 
account of what she then was as on account of 



268 THE HEROES OF THE WAH FOR THE UNIOIS^ 

what she had been. He delighted in expatiating 
upon the eloquence of her early statesmen, the valor, 
skill, and deeds of her warriors, and the exploits of 
her citizens generally. Virginia held the hones of 
Washington, hut none of his virtnes — nothing of 
his naagnanimity. The intrepid Lee, the eloquent 
Henry, the intellectual Randolph, the astute Jeffer- 
son, and others equally great and good, had vacated 
their seats in the Legislative halls of the nation, and 
were succeeded hy such men as Roger A. Pry or! 
How were the mighty fallen ! The glory of the Old 
Dominion had departed with the disappearance of 
these great names. And now Pryor labored to shine 
in the borrowed luster and stolen glory of the illus- 
trious dead ! In the hands of such a man were the 
interests of Virginia intrusted. 

Pryor was not without talent and culture, but the 
latter was essentially defective and one-sided, while 
the former was in subordination to one of the most 
bigoted, selfish, and capricious hearts. He was a 
blustering and disgusting demagogue. He was full 
of self-conceit. His egotism obtruded itself upon 
every occasion where good sense and modesty alone 
could command respect, and thrust itself into the 
face of every person, when to do so Avas exceedingly 
discourteous. He could not endure a subordinate 
position. He had to be first, or else his courage 
departed, his arrogance crumbled away, and he suf- 
fered the tortures of an inquisitou. 

In the halls of Congress he was an incessant 
talker. He must speak upon every subject that 
came up for action. Consequently, his influence 



GENERAL LANDER. 269 

over the members of Congress was as limited as liis 
speeclies were notorious for tlieir arrogance and stu- 
pidity. He always spoke with a liarsh, stentorian 
voice. His arguments were the sheerest sophistry, 
his reasoning mere dogmatism, and, when attempt- 
ing to he severe, his language degenerated into the 
grossest billingsgate. He could traduce, vituperate, 
and vilify with a volubility that would have aston- 
ished by its magnitude, had it not disgusted with 
its fetid truculence. He was gross and licentious. 
He had no respect for the prejudices of mankind, 
measuring the feelings of all others by his utter in- 
sensibility to shame and want of capacity to feel an 
insult when designedly given. 

He announced himself the apostle of Southern 
slavery. He took its terrible interests and arrogant 
claims under his special guardianship. So absorbed 
was he in championing his specialty that he could 
not speak on any subject without, ere he closed, 
entering upon the topic of the " peculiar institution." 
He was an ultra " fire-eater." He was among the 
first to espouse the cause of the Southern conspira- 
tors. He was maddened by the spirit of secession- 
ism. 'By the dint of talking and bullying the con- 
servative members of the Convention of Virginia, 
he did more to carry her out of the Union and into 
the vortex of ruin than any other man. A few days 
before Virginia seceded, and while it was feared by 
the conspirators that she would continue faithful to 
the old fiag, he went to Charleston to fill a self- 
imposed mission. He assured the Charlestonians,in 
a public speech, that " if they but drew a little 



270 THE HEROES OF TEE WAR FOR THE UNI0I5"."' 

Yankee blood," old Virginia would go with tliem. 
This was what the South Carolinians wanted. The 
irretrievable step was taken. Sumter was attacked 
and captured. The torch of civil war was lighted 
by the fires of the conflagration of Fort Sumter, 
and the South and ^N^orth grappled together in 
deadly embrace. Pryor had laid the straw upon 
the camel that broke its back. As Pryor had as- 
serted, the boom of the Southern cannon had not 
died away before Virginia seceded, and arrayed her- 
self on the side of treason. This was Pr3^or's work. 
He gloried in the mischief he had accomplished. 
He was proud of the part he had taken in breaking 
up the best government in the world. 

Then, returning to the state that he had ruined, 
he assumed the airs and functions of a military 
chieftain. Bat for such a pursuit he had not tlie 
first qualification. He was soon raised to the high 
rank and command of Brigadier-General; but it 
was not long until his utter unfitness for the place 
discovered itself in so clear and impressive a man- 
ner that his best friends could not sustain him in 
his pretensions. His failure was signal and humil- 
iating. Prom his broad shoulders were stripped the 
ensigns of ofiice.* Such was Roger A. Pryor, the 
enemy of Mr. Potter. 

The South was more arro2:ant and unreasonable 

'•■Degraded from e\erj military office, to hide his shame and 
screen himself from the reproaches of his friends, he' entered, as a 
private^ the ranks of the Fifth Virginia Cavalry. As a private, 
even, he failed. The last that we heard of him was, that he had 
l>een compelled to perform double duty, as a punishment for fail- 



GENERAL LANDER. 271 

in her demands than hitherto. She felt that the 
reins of government were gliding out of her hands, 
and that she was about to lose the vast patronage 
of the United States, then constituting the wealth 
and hope of thousands of her citizens. These ca- 
lamities she determined to prevent hj increasing 
the number of slave states. 

Pryor, as usual, was the noisiest and most insult- 
ing advocate of Southern claims upon the floor of 
Congress. He laid aside the dignity and logic of 
the statesman, and indulged in the sophistry and 
legerdemain of the pettifogger. He was almost 
brutal in his denunciations of those who did not 
favor the vast and indefinite pretensions of the 
South. His speech, in its coarseness and dishonesty, 
would have diso:raced the tumultuous assemblao;es 
of Rome when in her deepest degradation. 

Mr. Potter calmly, forcibly, and logically replied 
to him. It was an eloquent defense of the doctrine 
of universal freedom, and a noble vindication of the 
principles with which he stood connected. With 
an unsparing hand he drew aside the dark curtain 
that concealed from the gaze of man the horrid de- 
formities and terrible inhumanity of the Southern 
system of slavery. 

This was more than Pryor could bear. He felt 
that Potter was seriously damaging the Southern 
cause. He must be silenced. As his arguments 

ing to answer to the roll-call of his company in the morning. 
Such are the men — the monsters— -who brought upon us this deso- 
lating war. Not one of the leading conspirators proved himself a 
eoldieri 



272 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

could not be answered in debate, his power to in- 
jure the South had to be destroyed in some way. 
J3ecause his arguments were more soUd, his reason- 
mg; more k)o:ical, and his retorts keener than those 
of Pryor, and because Potter would not yiekl to his 
dogmatism, lie incurred his hery hatred. But with 
Potter, as a debater, he could do nothing. Conse- 
quently, the only course left for him was that of the 
duelist — the fool's resort. Potter was challenged. 
Pie was required to back up his powerful argu- 
ments by the hazarding of his life. The challenge 
was accepted, and Mr. Potter selected Colonel Lan- 
der as his " second" on this trying and serious oc- 
casion. 

To act in sucli a delicate and critical capacity no 
better selection could have been made. In every 
essential respect Colonel Lander was the man for 
the place. Of this Mr. Potter was fully persuaded 
before he sought his assistance. Perfectly familiar 
with the laws of the so-called " Southern code of 
honor," and dauntlessly brave, no bullying was at 
all likely to divert him from what he conceived to 
be right. He stood by Mr. Potter with the firm- 
ness of a rock, and the devotion of a martyr. ]!n oth- 
ing could induce him to betray the confidence re- 
posed in him, nor surrender any of the rights of 
him whom he represented. Mr. Potter was wholly 
unaccustomed to dueling, and equally unfamiliar 
with the use of dueling-pistols. These things placed 
him at the mercy of Pryor.. To place the combat- 
ants upon an equal footing, and to neutralize the 
superiority of the one over the other, Colonel Lan- 



GENERAL LANDER. 273 

der selected, as the weapons of the contest, the com- 
mon Bowie-knife. This he had a perfect right to 
do as the challenged party. To this selection 
the challenger demurred. It simply equalized the 
chances of the parties. But this was not what 
Pry or and his friends wanted, and was as repug- 
nant to their feelings as the weapons themselves. 
He sought perfect immunity from danger himself, 
while at the same time he could effectually punish 
his antagonist. Few were equal to Pryor in the 
skillful and expert handling of the pistol. His hand 
was practiced and steady ; his aim certain and 
deadly. He was well assured that Potter was, in 
the use of the pistol, the opposite of this. Pryor 
desired a certain and easy victory. An adept in as- 
sassination, he aimed, with murderous intent, to lay 
the noble Potter by the side of the foully murdered 
Broderick, of California. A pure patriot, a friend to 
oppressed humanity, and ready to raise the fallen. 
Potter stood in the way of the South, and obstructed 
the accomplishment of her wicked purposes. To 
silence his voice and destroy his great influence 
was the object of this duel. Pryor hoped to kill him 
without receiving any injury himself. Colonel Lan- 
der clearly penetrated these designs, and at once re- 
solved upon their defeat, and the humiliation of the 
haughty Southerner. 

Pryor and his " second " pronounced the employ- 
ment of the Bowie-knife both "barbarous and inhu- 
man." They seemed to forget that dueling, in any 
form, and under any provocation, was eminently 
" barbarous and inhuman." It is a practice so sav- 



274 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

age in its elements, stands out in sucli stern oppo- 
sition to all social refinement, and is so destructive 
of all personal security, while it ignores the solemn 
realities of eternity, that none but the most savage, 
violent, and immoral will voluntarily engage in it. 
The professional duelist delights in felling his op- 
ponent when free from danger himself, hut shrinks 
back appalled from such a contest when the chances 
of falling himself are equal to those of his antago- 
nist. Such is Southern justice, magnanimity, and 
sensibility. The Southern duelist has no feeling, 
unless his own precious person is in danger; then, 
like Pryor, he will writhe and squirm like a worm 
upon a live coal of fire ! 

When Pryor and his second objected to the em- 
ployment of the Bowie-knife^ Colonel Lander promptly 
informed them that he was prepared to render them 
full satisfaction with any weapon they might name ; 
but with him they had no quarrel. Persisting in 
maintaining the rights of the challenged party, he 
bafiied and defeated them upon their own chosen 
ground. He adhered to the Southern interpretation 
of the '^ code of honor," to which Pryor had so osten- 
tatiously subscribed. But there was no duel. Pryor, 
the brave, blustering Pryor, though the challenger, 
positively refused to fight with the Bowie-knife! 
The dangerous foe of Potter was vanquished with- 
out the shedding a drop of blood or the endanger- 
ing of human life ! He shrank away, cowardlike, 
from the contest of his own seeking. With shame 
and ridicule poor Pryor was driven from his favor- 
ite haunts. Por weeks he hid himself from the 



GENERAL LANDER. 275 

scoffs and jeers of the many wlio enjoyed his hu- 
miliation. But few, if any, pitied him. He had 
brought the misfortune upon himself, by dishonor- 
able attempts to destroy a noble opponent. He was 
badly defeated, and as keenly felt his disgrace as he 
could feel any thing. To this day he has not for- 
given Colonel Lander. Pry or correctly traced the 
cause of his dishonor to his ingenuity. He knew 
just how to deal with such gentry. He succeeded 
in reducing the overgrown Prj^or to his normal 
higlit. 

From those revolting scenes of ambition, strife, 
and depravity. Colonel Lander started for Califor- 
nia. In this new and growing state he sought a 
purer and more congenial association of things. To 
a 'greater or less extent, he was gratified. Amid 
the impure he found those who were pure, and from 
the ignoble horde he selected the really noble. 
Here he nestled down in a beautiful, quiet, and 
peaceful home, taking to himself a befitting and 
appreciating companion. In 1860, he was joined iu 
holy wedlock to Miss Davenport, the distinguished 
American actress. She was both talented and beau- 
tiful. From her charming countenance beamed a 
noble, loving, and magnanimous soul. Her pecu- 
liar calling had not in the least deteriorated her su- 
perb heart-qualities. Theirs was not simply a union 
of hands, as is too often the case, but also of warm, 
ardent, loving hearts, and proved to be of the most 
complete and happy character. Colonel Lander and 
Miss Davenport were perfectly suited to each other. 
With each other's tastes and preferences they were 



276 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXIO^. 

prepared, by nature and culture, to fully s^mipatliize. 
Both were classically educated ; both were decidedly 
intellectual; both were personally fond of polite 
literature; both were of the most polished manners, 
and both were lovers of the good, the beautiful, and 
the grand. Theirs were congenial natures. For 
Colonel Lander it was fortunate that he secured the 
hand and heart of one who could fully appreciate 
his faculties and enterprises. It was a new life to 
him — an additional power. While it existed, theirs 
was a happy married life. 

But he was soon to take temporary leave of hia 
companion. The parting was painful to both, but 
necessary. A devotedly loyal citizen, and profound- 
ly attached" to our free institutions. Colonel Lander 
was among the first to respond in person to the 
President's call for volunteers. He left all that he 
loved and valued, wholly devoting himself to the 
enforcement of the laws and the support of the 
Constitution of the United States. The ardor of 
his patriotism arose with the magnitude of the 
danger with which our free institutions were threat- 
ened. To crush out the rebellion became the great 
object of his life. This great object shaped his 
emotions, controlled his actions, subsidized and in- 
tensified all his energies. From the first act of hos- 
tility he manifested a feverish eagerness to measure 
his strength with the haughty foemen. At once he 
entered upon active military duty. It was for this 
high purpose that he offered his sword to Mr. Lin- 
coln. The off'er of his services was cordially ac- 
cepted. West Virginia was the rugged and la- 



. GEXEHAL LANDER. 277 

borioiis field to vrliicli he was first assigned. As 
work was to be done immediately, this appoint- 
ment was most cordially acceptable. West Virginia 
was loyal. A convention of her people was about 
to meet in Wheeling, to form a new state, and to 
take measures to remain under the Federal Govern- 
ment. This the insurgents determined to prevent, 
and, at the same time, overrun and subdue the 
country. To secure to the people of that section 
of country the privilege of a free expression of their 
purposes, and the right to decide their future 
course of conduct, it was necessary that West Vir- 
ginia should be occupied by a Union army. This 
was done. Of these troops and the AVestern Depart- 
ment, of which West Virginia constituted an im- 
portant part, General George B. McClellan was 
Commander-in-chief. As his Aid, Colonel Lander 
entered this portion of the. Western Department. 
As General McClellan could not enter immediately 
with the troops. Colonel Lander acted as his repre- 
sentative, and took control of affairs during his 
absence. 

He was among the first that crossed from Ohio 
into the insurgent territory. He did not throw 
away any of his time. In this new field he assidu- 
ously and successfully labored for the cause so dear 
to him. He reserved to himself the most arduous 
part of the work. His frequent and daring recon- 
noisances secured the most ample knowledge of the 
strength, position, and purposes of the enemy, while 
they displayed the most surprising temerity and 
hardihood. To the Federal army his services were 



278 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

of the highest importance. Colonel Lander soon 
became distinguished. His daring deeds, romantic 
adventures, tireless energy, and noble bearing, won 
the admiration and secured the respect of his gen- 
erals, and endeared him to the whole army. In- 
deed, by all with whom he came in contact, whether 
in civil or military life, he was held in the highest 
esteem. Kor was he unworthy of this high regard. 

Toward the close of May, 1861, our troops were 
concentrated at Grafton, a place of some strategic 
importance. This town lay at the junction of the 
Baltimore and Ohio and i^orth-western Virginia 
Railways. Colonel Kelly, an educated, brave, and 
loyal Virginian, was in command of the post. The 
rebels, on the approach of our forces, had withdrawn 
from Grafton and concentrated at Philippi, about 
fifteen miles further south. Here they pnrposed 
making a stand. Their intention was to force the 
people of West Virginia into an espousal and sup- 
port of their nefarious cause. But this could not 
be accomplished so long as the Federal troops held 
possession of the very heart of that section of 
the state. Consequently, the collection of a for- 
midable army was essential to their success. This 
the Federal commander determined to prevent by 
prompt and energetic measures. General McClellan 
ordered a surprise of the rebels by a forced march 
upon their camp. The rebels were to be captured 
or dispersed ere they became formidable either in 
numbers or discipline. 

The night of the 2d of June, 1861, was selected 
as the period in which to move upon Philippi. Our 



GENERAL LANDER. 279 

troops approaclied in two divisions. The division 
under Colonel Dumont went by the way of Web- 
ster, and was to strike the enemy's front. The 
other division, under Colonel Kelly, took the Beverly 
pike, and was to fall upon the rebel rear. Both 
columns were to reach their points of attack at the 
same hour, four o'clock in the morning. The 
troops engaged in this enterprise were the Sixth and 
Seventh Indiana Regiments, commanded by Colonels 
Crittenden and Dumont, the Sixteenth and Four- 
teenth Ohio Volunteers, under Colonels Irwin and 
Steadman, with a battery under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Sturgis — all under the general command of Colonel 
Lander. 

At the concerted signal the columns moved out 
upon their respective routes. The night was as 
dark as Egypt in the days of Moses, the roads were 
rough, narrow, obscure, and mountainous. Besides 
this, rain fell for the m.ost of the distance in 
drenching, blinding torrents. Before half of the 
distance had been traversed, the mud became deep, 
stiff, and exhausting. But the soldiers patiently 
trudo-ed on until their destination was reached. 

Accompanied by^ Colonel Lander, the division 
commanded by Dumont reached the summit of the 
great hill that overlooks Philippi just as the early 
light was deepening into open day. The rebels 
were already astir, early as it was. A pistol fired 
by a female rebel, an old shrew, near where our 
troops were halted, apf>rised the insurgent camp of 
our approach. ISTo time was to be lost. The first 
rays of the morning sun had just shot athwart the 



280 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION". 

valley in whicli nestled the rebel village. The in- 
surgents had to be attacked at once, else they Avould 
all escape by unguarded roads. The column of Col- 
onel Kelly had not arrived in the rear of the en- 
emy's camp. Consequently, in this direction they 
had an unobstructed way of exit. Colonel Lander 
determined not to await the arrival of Colonel Kelly. 

He ordered the guns into position upon the crest 
of the hill, just back of the town, while Colonel 
Dumont was directed to take the barricaded bridge 
and villao:e. This he did in the most handsome and 
gallant manner. The artillery opened upon the re- 
treating rebels. The first shot, as its heavy boom 
lazily rolled along the deep valley, induced the 
wildest confusion in their ranks. . A solid shot 
went crashing through the principal building of the 
place. This greatly hightened their confusion and 
alarm. Soon the various roads leading from the 
town were filled with flying, frightened rebels. At 
the top of their speed they fled toward some dis- 
tant asylum. 

On seeing the most of the rebels escaping. Colonel 
Land.er could hardly contain himself. Had not the 
rebel shrew given the alarm, and had Colonel Kelly 
arrived in their rear simultaneously with the arrival 
of Colonel Dumont, the entire rebel force would 
have been captured. But the alarm had been given, 
and Colonel Kelly, losing his way on account of the 
deep darkness of the night, was late in reaching 
his destination ; consequently his prey, so nearly se- 
cured, was escaping from his clutches. He w^as furi- 
ous with disappointment, yet perfectly self-possessed. 



GENERAL LANDER. 281 

Just then he descried Colonel Kelly's column 
filing down the ravine opposite his position. Grasp- 
ing a pistol in each hand, he instantly put spurs to 
his fiery steed, plunging down the steep and craggy 
hill-side at a hreak-neck speed. The adventure was 
novel and thrilling. The artillerists paused in their 
work of death, as if paralyzed by the audacity of 
the fearless rider. They looked on in bewildered 
wonder. Breathless with fears for his safety, they 
expected to see him and his horse dashed to pieces 
every moment. But on, on he flew, as if carried 
along and above danger by a superior power. To 
the witnesses of this daring feat seconds appeared 
hours. They fully expected that Colonel Lander 
would be returned to them a mangled, bleeding 
mass. But the bold adventurer reached the valley in 
safety. Again the artillerists lived, and the moment- 
ary hush of anxious suspense was disturbed by one 
of the wildest shouts that ever went up from excited 
soldiers. 

This grand feat of horsemanship was, at least, 
equal to that of General Putnam, of traditional no- 
toriety. But few men would have undertaken so 
hazardous an enterprise of their own accord. Some 
might be forced to such a courp.e by an overwhelm- 
ing enemy, as was the case with General Putnam; 
but that which augments the luster of this exploit 
is, that Colonel Lander, rather than take a more 
circuitous but safer route, " of his own free will and 
accord," perfectly oblivious to the danger with 
which he was menaced, swept down that rough and 
steep hill-side to attack an enemy and the sooner 
24 



282 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

communicate witli Colonel Kelly. It was a grand, 
rare performance. Colonel Lander's great skill in 
managing a liorse, liis firm seat in the saddle, liis 
freedom from fear, and his wonderful courage, qual- 
ified him to succeed in such deeds of temerity. 

He reached the pike in safety, and swept x^ast the 
column of Dumont like the wind, "looking more 
like a demon than a man." Colonel Stedman, one 
of the truest men and bravest soldiers in our army, 
in the excitement of the moment, had gone some 
three hundred yards in advance of his men, as Col- 
onel Lander passed. "- Go back. Colonel Stedman — 
go back to your column," said he, " or you will be 
cut ofi"!" He never thought of his own danger, as 
he rushed on alone into the rebel camp. 

Reaching Philippi, he rode over to Colonel Kelly, 
who was considerably in advance of his column, 
just in time to see, but not to prevent, the rebel 
quarter-master, Simms, plant a musket-ball in his 
chest. Colonel Lander rushed upon the culprit 
while in the act of escaping amid the cheers of his 
traitorous comrades. Laying hold of him, though 
alone, yet surrounded by rebels, he made him his 
prisoner. This was done as coolly as if no other 
rebel was within miles of him. His daring con- 
founded his enemies, while his terrible mien par- 
alyzed them with fear. The rebels could have 
riddled him with musketry had they possessed the 
necessary courage. Until taken into custody by a 
squad of infantry, Simms was held quiet and in his 
place by one of the Colonel's pistols near his head. 

Colonel Kelly's command arriving, and ascertain- 



GENERAL LANDER. 283 

ing what had befallen their beloved commander, the 
soldiers were so exasperated, that, had they not 
been restrained by the orders and firmness of Lan- 
der, they would have torn him in pieces on the spot. 
The prisoner was saved from a speedy and ignomin- 
ious death. Had he been in the hands of a less gal- 
lant, fearless, and determined man, he would, in all 
likelihood, have been sacrificed. But Lander was 
inflexible in his purpose to respect the laws of war 
at the risk of his own life, however others might 
violate or disregard them. Simms had given up 
his arms and surrendered to him ; hence he would 
shield him with his own body from the fury of 
the maddened soldiers. 

In this brave act is seen the integrity and gener- 
osity of this bold and impetuous ofiicer. Colonel 
Lander preferred forfeiting the respect of his own 
men to that of permitting a wrong to be done to 
one who had thrown himself upon his justice and 
mercy. He was right. He had given his ofiicial 
word that that rebel should be treated as a prisoner 
of war. To that much the insurs^ent had an in- 
dubitable claim. Less than this Colonel Lander 
could not have done without great injury to him- 
self. An enemy, when a prisoner, was as secure 
from outrage in his hands, as if in the hands of 
his friends. Consequently, wherever he was known 
by the insurgents, they feared and respected him 
as they feared and respected no other man. 

From Philippi the rebels were tumultuously 
driven, their camp captured and broken up, their 
army scattered and disorganized, and the town was 



284 THE IIEKOES OF THS- WAR FOR THE UNION-, 

ever afterward occupied by our forces. To these 
excellent results no one contributed as mucli as 
Colonel Lander. To him we are greatly indebted 
for the first success of the Army of the Union. 

Soon after the battle of Philippi, Major-General 
McClellan appeared in person in West Yirginia. 
He took supreme command of all the forces in the 
"Western Department. Colonel Lander was retained 
as the chief member of the staff*. IsTo better se- 
lection could have been made. Li carrying on the 
war, in prosecuting the work of the campaign, 
General McClellan had no better officer, nor one so 
laborious as Lander. He was always upon the wing. 
He was as ceaseless in his activity as the unresting 
sea. He threw away no time in idleness nor in 
useless or unmilitary conduct. When any difficult 
or dangerous enterprise was to be undertaken, he 
was always on hand, and ready, and most frequently 
selected as the leader. He could lead ; he never fol- 
lowed his companions in arms. He cheerfully ven- 
tured upon the most hazardous enterprises, and was 
in the best of spirits when detailed for some Quix- 
otic expedition. His success was uniform and won- 
derful. While to the loyal his name soon became 
the synonym of victory, to the rebels it was a 
terror. The cowardly and treacherous bushwhack- 
ers dreaded nothing so much as an expected en- 
counter with him. A host within himself, he 
carried dismay into the ranks of these monsters. 

Under the command of General Garnett, the rebel 
force, driven from Philippi, eventually intrenched 
itself on Laurel Hill, near Beverly, one of the 



GENERAL LANDER. 285 

spurs of the Laurel Mountains. This was a naturally 
strong position, rendered almost impregnable in 
front by extensive and skillfully constructed forti- 
fications. As the rebels continued enlarging and 
strengthening their intrenchments and increasing 
their numbers, it soon became evident that they 
meditated an attack upon our forces immediately 
in their front.. But it was determined by "the Fed- 
eral commander that the rebels should be attacked 
in their own intrenchments before they got ready 
to move upon us. They were to be dislodged from 
their stronghold, and driven from the country. 
The longer this was delayed, the more formidable 
would they become, while the chances of success 
would proportionably decrease. Toward this enter- 
prise every action was directly related. Prepara- 
tions upon a most ample scale were being made. 
Toward the perfecting of the arrangements for 
the contemplated movement Colonel Lander con- 
tributed very largely. His genius and energy were 
of the highest service to our army at that time. 
His breadth of intellect enabled him to grasp the 
subject in all its relations, details, and bearings. 
A moving, molding, mighty spirit in these mount- 
ainous regions, he contributed to a greater extent 
than is generally conceded to the success of our 
arms in that campaign. He did much toward sup- 
plying the deficiency in the experience and knowl- 
edge of many of our officers. By both precept and 
example he speedily inducted them into the art and 
mystery of active warfare. 

Preparation for the contemplated battle was at 



286 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIO:S". 

length completed. Every thing that man could 
do to insure success had been done. As partly 
the work of his own hands, Colonel Lander con- 
templated these preparations and the ability of 
the Army of West Virginia to grapple successfully 
with the insurgents with the profoundest feelings 
of satisfaction. He reposed the fullest confidence 
in the measures that had been taken, and felt cer- 
tain of ultimate success. 

As a direct ,and front attack upon the rebel 
works on Laurel Hill would be very, and unneces- 
sarily, destructive of human life. General McClellan 
concluded to take them by a bold flank movement. 
While executing this movement, a portion of our 
troops, under General Morris, was to divert their 
attention to the front. But while carrying out his 
well-concerted plans, McClellan ascertained that 
Ivich Mountain, a few miles to the left of Laurel 
Hill, was strongly fortified, and held by a rebel 
force under Colonel Pegram. This was as strong 
a position as Laurel Hill, and ere he could ad- 
vance on the latter he must take the former. 
This General McClellan determined to do. But as 
a direct attack was difficnlt, if not impossible, a 
rear attack was decided upon. While he retained 
the greater portion of his troops in front to di- 
vert the attention of the rebels from the real point 
of danger, he dispatched Colonel liosecrans, then 
but little known, with a trusty brigade of three 
or four thousand men, to the rear of the enemy's 
works. He was accompanied by Colonel Lander. 
He was in the best of spirits. He felt that he 



GENERAL LAXDER. 287 

would soon be engaged in work congenial to liis 
great soul — tlie work of crushing out the rebellion. 
But before he accompanied Colonel Rosecrans in 
his hazardous enterprise to the rear, he aided in an 
armed reconnoissance of the rebel works. It was 
made by Colonel McCook's ''bully Dutchmen," 
Loomis's Michigan battery. Baker's Chicago cavalry, 
with the Third and Fourth Ohio Kegiments. The 
reconnoissance was coolly conducted under a heavy 
artillery and musketry fire from the rebel works. 
While this was going on, and brave men were fear- 
lessly exposing themselves to the thick-flying mis- 
siles of the enemy, Colonel Lander very deliberately 
stalked down the road below them to the very heart 
of the gorge swept by the rebel artillery, and, stop- 
ping in front of the rebel works, made his observations 
with the greatest coolness imaginable. He was as 
calm and as self-poised as if surveying a lovely land- 
scape. For some unaccountable reason the rebels 
ceased firing the moment Colonel Lander presented 
himself in that exposed position. They could have 
literally cut him to pieces, had they been so dis- 
posed, as he was within easy, point-blank range ; 
but they did not fire a shot while he was there. 
His audacity must have confounded his enemies, or 
their respect for so much courage would not permit 
them to injure him. But, be this as it may, it is 
certain that the withholding of their fire alone saved 
him. Having. finished his inspection of that part of 
the rebel front, he took oft' his hat, bowed politely 
to the enemy covering the parapet not two hundred 
yards ofi:", and, with a measured, uiihurried tread. 



288 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

walked back to his place in tlie army. This broke 
the seemiug spell with which the rebels had been 
bound, and they opened upon his retiring form a 
heavy but scattering fire. He regained his comrades 
untouched by a rebel ball ! 

Colonel Key, then one of the most promising 
young officers of our army, but now numbered with 
the gallant dead, observing the return of Colonel 
Lander, immediately left his cover, and, moving 
down the road, met him "with the greatest sim- 
plicity of manner, distinctive of so pure and noble a 
nature," saying : " Colonel Lander, did I show any 
unusual emotions under fire ? " the rebel marksmen 
striving, at the same time, to bring down these dis- 
tinguished champions. This sublime adventure was 
worthy the best days of ancient chivalry. The his- 
tory of this war will not furnish any more splendid 
examples of patriotic devotion and courage. This 
romantic deed was seen and applauded by thousands 
of both armies ! 

Accompanied and aided by Colonel Lander, Colo- 
nel Rosecrans, after the greatest toil, succeeded in 
reaching the rebel rear. This caused them to fall 
an easy prey to our troops, but not without some 
hard fighting, and considerable loss of life. Fore- 
most among the noble band who defeated the rebels 
on that occasion was Colonel Lander. Unaccus- 
tomed to attack or take military works, among our 
troops were both delay and hesitancy. This hesi- 
tancy did not arise from cowardice, but from a want 
of knowledge how to proceed in such an afiair. 
The delay was becoming dangerous. The rebel in- 



GENERAL LANDER. 289 

trenchments had to be stormed at once, if stormed 
at all. At this critical juncture, when the issues 
were trembling in the balance, Colonel Lander 
sprang upon a high rock, in full view of the rebel 
batteries, and, exposing his commanding person to 
the deadly aim of their sharp-shooters, urged the 
boys, in trumpet tones, "to go in and finish the 
work at once." "With a bound they did " go in," 
the intrepid Colonel at their head, and, with a ter- 
rific shout, in triumph drove the rebels before them. 
The rebel fortifications were captured. The enemy 
not captured fled in wild confusion; but the most 
of them, with all their munitions of war, fell into 
our hands. Colonel Pegram, with the majority of 
his command, was made a prisoner of war. It was 
a most complete victory, and grand in its immediate 
results. The defeat of Colonel Pegram at Rich 
Mountain necessitated the hasty evacuation of Lau- 
rel Hill by Garnett. Thus, by one daring charge 
upon the rebel fortifications, two armies were de- 
feated, and two strong, formidable positions taken 
by our forces. To these triumphs no one contribu- 
ted more than Colonel Lander. Por his great serv- 
ices and brilliant conduct upon this second battle- 
field of liberty against despotism, he was promoted 
to the rank of Brigadier-General. Thus the gov- 
ernment justly placed the highest estimate upon his 
abilities as a commander, ^or did it ever have 
occasion to revoke its early decision. 

When General McClellan, immediately subsequent 
to the defeat of our troops under General McDowell, 
at Bull Run, was summoned to Washington to take 
25 



290 THE HEROES OF THE VTAU FOE THE UNION. 

command of tlie Fedeial troops, General Lander, 
by special invitation, accompanied liim thither. To 
Washington he carried the great energy and tireless 
devotion to his profession tliat distinguished him 
in West Virginia. In accordance with the impera- 
tive necessities of the situation, as soon as he reached 
his new field he went to w^ork. He could not be idle. 
He felt it to be infinitely beneath the dignity of an 
oflicer, and dishonorable to spend any time in idleness 
when so much was to be done. Washington was full 
of leisure-loving, lounging, shoulder-strapped gentry. 
For such leeches he felt the supremest contempt, 
and was not slow" in show^ins: his diso'ust. ^N^othiue: 
aggravated him to a greater extent than the pres- 
ence and importance of those ofiicial drones. Often, 
and upon every suitable occasion, he rebuked them 
by his example, and stung them with the keenness 
of his sarcasm. He could not abide the titled 
hangers-on. He regarded them not only as sponges, 
absorbing every thing about them without yielding 
any thing, but also as robbers, taking that from the 
country for which they gave no equivalent. He 
had the mortification of seeing the evil of idleness 
continue to exist in giant proportions — of witness- 
ing the treasury drained and the army enfeebled 
by the retention of such ofiicers. 

Well would it have been for the endangered 
government had all the ofificers been as scrupulously 
conscientious, ardently patriotic, and laborious as 
General Lander. He was a model worker. Li re- 
organizing and drilling the Army of the Potomac, 
he w^as one of the most efiicient and tireless toilers. 



GENERAL LANDER. 291 

From Ills great duties the miserable and degrading 
haunts of vice and pleasure did not allure him for a 
moment. He had his faults, but dissipation was not 
one of them. Like the distinguished and deeply la- 
mented Colonel Baker, of California, he scrupulously 
gave his time and abilities to his bleeding and be- 
trayed country. AVhile the Army of the Potomac was 
in a forming state, his native land in danger, and its 
Capital menaced by an insolent foe, he could not be 
induced to indulge in elegant leisure, nor recreate at 
the expense of his government. To that which did 
not, directly or indirectly, relate to his profession, he 
gave not a moment's attention. Day and night he 
toiled to raise the spirits and increase the efficiency of 
the growing Armj* of the Potomac. [N'or did he toil 
in vain. He had the rare pleasure of witnessing that 
army grow up into mammoth proportions, and acquire 
the skill and power of veteran soldiers. In a few 
months after General Lander entered the Capital, 
the Army of the Potomac was the best-drilled, best- 
equipped, and the most efficient army that was ever 
made out of vol unteers. This was conceded by friend 
and foe, by native and foreign-born. To these grand 
results he o-reatlv contributed. ThouHi it is not 
generally acknowledged, yet General Lander was one 
of tlie principal architects of the grand Army of the 
Potomac. The fact that he was placed in command 
of a division of that army upon the L^pper Potomac 
is corroborative of the truth of our statement. 

Though satisfied with the command with which 
he was intrusted. General Lander was not happy. 
The prolonged and inexcusable inactivity to which 



292 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UKLOl^. 

General McClellan subjected the Army of the Poto- 
mac chafed his active soul almost beyond endur- 
ance. He often and spiritedly remonstrated against 
the General's suicidal waste of time, when time was 
every thing, and when the army was not yet 
affected by his repressive policy. But all he could 
say was unavailing. isTothing could move McClel- 
lan from his firm purpose not to move. Conse- 
quently, General Lander panted for a more active 
sphere. He desired to be cut loose from the inert 
body dragging him to the earth. He was dying 
from the torpor inflicted upon him and the gal- 
lant thousands lying along the borders of Virginia 
by the General-in-chief. He was free in uttering 
his contempt of the timid policy of the " young 
ITapoleon." The fact that some thought that his 
adventurous and daring spirit rendered him an un- 
safe leader in situations requiring wariness and 
caution, stripped his opinions of nearly all their 
force — deprived his advice of the importance to 
which^ it was justly entitled. But he was not an 
unsafe counselor, nor an unreliable leader. He was 
as cautious and prudent as he was bold, fearless, 
and headlong in his attack of the enemy. He re- 
strained his impetuous nature until every thing was 
ready; then he unmasked the concealed energies of 
his soul, and fell upon his antagonist like a thun- 
derbolt, crushing every thing in his way. His 
uniform and invariable success fully attested his 
ability to safely fill any place, however great, and 
lead any army, however numerous. Many pre- 
ferred trusting the more cautious McClellan, until 



GENEBAL LANDER. 293 

they ascertained, by bitter experience, tliat bis 
caution was so great as to lock up all bis otber 
powers, so tbat action witb bim was almost out of 
the question. He was rarely prepared or ready to 
move or to act. Even tbe peremptory orders of tbe 
President could not always arouse bis dormant 
powers. 

Consequently, tbese two Generals could not long 
act togetber witb cordiality and bearty co-opera- 
tion. As General Lander could not approve Gen- 
eral McClellan's torpid policy, be was not spar- 
ing of bis denunciations of it. To severely censure 
wbat be disliked, and to condemn, in tbe strongest 
language, wbat be disapproved, was one of Lander's 
cbaracteristics, and, perbaps, one of bis faults. He 
bad, unquestionably, to sucb a course of conduct 
quite a morbid tendency. If be 'bad enemies at all, 
tbey were made, and continued sucb, in tbis way. 
Like many otbers, conscious of a personal recti- 
tude in all be did, be was unsparing in bis criti- 
cism of tbose wbo laid tbemselves liable to con- 
demnation by tbeir faulty conduct. To disapprove 
tbe wrong is always rigbt; but perbaps be did not 
sufficiently discriminate between tbe seemingly 
guilty and tbe really criminal. Consequently, be 
was liable, by bis bearty censure of wrong-doing, 
to oflend tbose conscious of tbe purest intentions, 
however otherwise their conduct might appear. 
Thus we may account for General McClellan's es- 
trangement from General Lander. 

Tbat sucb an estrangement was brought about 
by tbe latter's severe criticism of the military con- 



294 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE TNIOK 

clact of tlie former tlicrc is eveiy reason to believe. 
There was a manifest alienation of heart between 
them. There is reason for believing, at least, that 
the same cordial friendship, toward the close of 
their interconrse, did not subsist between them that 
formerly did. It has been intimated that the un- 
fortunate results of this alienation had much to do 
in hastenins: General Lander's death. There is no 
doubt but what General McClellan, had he been so 
disposed, had it in his power, in his great place, to 
annoy, baffle, and afflict him to any extent. I3ut 
that he ever really used his station to torture one 
with whom he was displeased, we are unable to 
positively state. The future, and the archives of 
Washington, can alone fully determine this matter. 
The general who will charge the defeat of another 
general, when betrayed and deserted by a jpct corps 
commander and overwhehried by a" superior force, 
to '' the want of brains," after said general had 
conducted one of the most splendid campaigns of 
the war, should not complain if he is thought capa- 
ble of slyly oppressing one whose genius he fears, 
and whose success he envies. It is certain that 
General McClellan did not respect General Lander's 
opinions on military matters, as he had a right to 
expect, nor did he co-operate with him in his 
noble and strenuous efforts to crush the insurgents, 
as the condition of things required. But as this 
subject is involved in considerable obscurity, we 
will await the developments of the future. 

The strange, unfortunate, and disastrous battle 



GENERAL LANDER. 295 

of Bair^s JBlufF was fought on the 22d of October, 
1861. This battle was planned and fought agamst 
his most earnest remonstrance. But the events 
that then transpired aroused his mighty soul to the 
greatest extent. Though none of his command were 
engaged in that bloody struggle, he could not re- 
main an idle spectator of such stirring scenes. 
Though he had strenuously opposed the whole af- 
fair while under consideration, yet such was his 
devotion to his flag, and so eager was he for the 
activity and excitement of the conflict, that he threw 
himself, as a volunteer, with all his impetuosity, into 
the fight at Leesburg, on the day succeeding the 
bloody defeat at Ball's Bluff". With his usual 
daring and accustomed defiance of danger, he ap- 
peared upon his noble charger among the Federal 
skirmishers. Fierce with excitement, and terrible 
in his towering strength, he swept down upon the 
enemy like a destroying angel. No assailant could 
elude his vigilant eye nor escape the edge of his 
gleaming sword. In the warm blood of more than 
one rebel did he bathe his trusty blade that day. 
But he was destined to carry evidence of the se- 
verity of the conflict and the desperateness of his 
valor to his grave. A ball from a rebel's rifle 
struck him in the leg, inflicting a deep and painful, 
but not, it was thought, a mortal wound. Though 
suffering the most excruciating pain, and gradually 
growing weak from the copious loss of blood from 
the torn arteries, he continued on the field to the 
last. In consequence of all this he was laid upon 



296 THE HEUOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

liis back, subjected to a season of inactivity more 
intolerable than the wo and itself. His uneasy and 
restive spirit retarded his recovery. 

Durinor this dark season of forced inaction and 
suffering, he had the soothing presence and assidu- 
ous attentions of his most amiable wife. She 
watched over him with the most intense solicitude, 
and nursed him with unremitting tenderness. Ap- 
prehensive that their wedded life w^as about to be 
cut short in its most engaging and sunniest hours, 
she permitted nothing to occupy her mind but the 
wound and wants of her gallant husband. Her 
very existence was wound up in his. She knew that 
his death would be her greatest calamity, and per- 
haps her own death-warrant. Constantly she hov- 
ered over him, cheering by her smiles and sooth- 
ing by her attentions, more like an angel of mercy 
than a human being. All the native generosity 
of her heart expended itself in her words and ac- 
tions. She was sustained in her labor of love by wit- 
nessing the General's daily improvement. She soon 
had the pleasure of seeing him upon his feet again. 

Though General Lander was gradually approach- 
ing his former health, and had every assurance that 
he would, ere long, be himself again, yet he w^ould 
not wait until his restoration was perfect. As very 
important movements were to take place on the 
line on which his division was posted, he insisted 
on instantly taking the field. This he did, in spite 
of the tears and entreaties of his w^ife, and the re- 
monstrances of his friends. iTothing could dissuade 
liim from taking so perilous a step. He carried his 



GENERAL LANDER. 297 

point, but it was at the expense of his life. He 
leaped into his saddle, and felt himself a man again. 
A sad, yet half-gay smile illumined his pale, thin 
countenance. He felt rejuvenated. The fierce fire 
of battle burned brightly in his glowing eye. For 
the time being he was a new man. The future 
loomed up gloriously and grandly before him. The 
path leading to glory and renown spread out in his 
presence in all its gay and gorgeous colors. He felt 
that he would yet carve for himself a name, all 
ablaze with martial distinction, upon the pillar of 
national fame. His nostrils distended, he snufted 
the battle from afar, and, with the embers of life 
fast wasting away, he was eager for the contest. 

General Kelly's wound disqualifying him to fill 
the important post that he held. General Lander 
was sent to Cumberland to relieve him of his com- 
mand. He was soon at his head-quarters, wholly 
engrossed in the affairs of his department. It was 
soon seen that a new and mighty spirit was abroad, 
and makino^ itself felt everv-where. JN'ew life was 
infused into the entire army under his control. The 
most rigid discipline was enforced and an exact 
compliance with every regulation firmly demanded. 
All felt that they were under no ordinary com- 
mander. The army became a power, blended, 
miited. There was to be no more straggling upon 
the march, no more shrinking from duty for frivolous 
pretenses. Every man, whether general or private, 
was strictly answerable for deeds equal to his fullest 
capacity. Less than this would not be acceptable; 
more than this was not demanded. 



298 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

The common soldiers were deliglitecl with the 
Btern discipline to which the highest and lowest 
were alike subjected. And that which especially 
delio-hted the private was, his General exacted noth- 
ing of him but what he complied with himself. He 
was not a puppet chieftain. He was a stern, hardy 
warrior. K his men had to sleep without tents, 
General Lander shared with them in the same dep- 
rivations. He looked well and constantly to the 
comfort and efficiency of his men. They were his 
l^ope — the hope of the country. Soon he was the 
most popular General in the service of the United 
States. His army was prepared to follow him any- 
where and every-where. Under his leadership, if 
not hampered or interfered with by jealousy or in- 
competency,, they expected to accomplish something 
worthy of themselves and the cause they had es- 
poused. The opportunity to test these qualities was 
approaching with rapidity. 

The rebel General " Stonewall " Jackson, a man 
of intrepid valor and quenchless enthusiasm, and 
the man to whom the conspirators were indebted 
for all their victories, was rapidly moving upon the 
Upper Potomac with his devastating army. The 
Federal force, under General Lander, was, as usual, 
much inferior in numbers to that under General 
Jackson. But their cause was just and noble, their 
hearts were sound and brave, and their leader en- 
thusiastic and competent. They did not shrink 
from, nor dread the results of, an encounter with 
the rebel horde. The latter spread themselves over 
the country, in numbers and rapacity, like the de- 



GENERAL LANDER. 299 

vouring locusts of Egypt. They promised them- 
selves an easy victory and abundance of plunder. 
General Jackson had conducted his troops to the 
most mountainous parts of Virginia, in the severest 
and most inclement season of the year, shelterless 
and without adequate supplies. He had promised 
his half-naked, shivering, and hungry minions the 
rich and abundant commissary stores of the Federal 
army, and the portable produce of the invaded 
country. Of succeeding in this bold and reckless 
enterprise Jackson had not the least doubt. lie 
had hoped to crush General Lander's small but 
brave army before it could be reinforced. But he 
had a wary and active enemy with whom to grapple. 
General Lander anticipated all his movements, and, 
with an inferior and inexperienced army, defeated 
all his plans. General Jackson, for once, found an 
opponent equal to himself in everj^ . important re- 
spect. It is true that Lander did not engage the 
rebels in a general engagement. Such an engage- 
ment was what the rebels most desired, but in 
avoiding it is exhibited the great abilities of our 
General. Yet he compelled them to make a hasty, 
disastrous, and ignominious retreat, destitute of all 
necessary supplies. For days he harassed the rebel 
rear-guard, cut off and picked up hundreds of strag- 
glers, while the main column dragged its slow, bleed- 
ing length along rugged roads, and through narrow 
mountain defiles. In the mean time they were 
keenly suffering for the common necessaries of life. 
So hardly were they pressed, so hurried was their 
retreat, and so destitute of every thing, thiit many 



300 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

were frozen to deatli in the mountains, and many 
more were maimed for life, through the intensity of 
the cold weather. In these scenes of severe trial 
General Lander's great genius shone out resplen- 
dently, eclipsing all others with its magnificence. 
His position Avas no sinecure, nor were his duties 
those of elegant recreation. His labors were most 
arduous, his marches long, frequent, and exhausting, 
and his means of accomplishing what was expected 
of him meager and inadequate. But, under all these 
disadvantages, he drove the rebels from his depart- 
ment, and inflicted upon them severe and heavy losses. 
Pervaded with a strong and vehement desire for 
action, he suffered more from the restraints imposed 
upon him by his superiors, though his wounds were 
still torturing him, than from all else together. He 
regarded such restraints as unreasonable, and detri- 
mental to the interests of the country. 'No one in 
the field was better qualified, by the acuteness of 
his observation, the rapidity of his investigations, 
and the accuracy of his judgment, to meet the ne- 
cessities of the war than General Lander. To bring 
the war to a successful and speedy close, to crush 
out the slaveocratic revolt, much, very much, was to 
be risked, and quick, heavy, successive blows were 
prerequisite. For these he was fully prepared, and, 
so far as his superiors permitted him, he invariably 
sent the rebels reeling, disconcerted, defeated, back 
to whence they came. But he had to quicken or 
diminish his pace as his superiors dictated, though 
they were far from the scenes of action, and to do 
or not do just as bidden. 



GENERAL LANDER. 801 

Tliongli gTaduall}^ foiling in strength, and but a 
walking skeleton, General Lander had matured a 
magnificent scheme, contemplating the capture or 
annihilation of Jackson's entire army. The slow- 
moving and overcautious may pronounce his plan 
both visionary and impracticable, but just as cer- 
tainly as that he had been intrusted with a military 
force sufficient for its accomplishment — a force then 
easily available — he vrould have succeeded. He 
•never failed in any military enterprise he ever un- 
dertook, if permitted to fully prosecute his plans. 
'Nov would he have failed in this enterprise, daring 
and hazardous as it was, had he not been for- 
bidden to act by the General-in-chief. Nothing so 
deeply affected him as McClellan's refusal to take 
General Jackson when completely in his power. 
Three powerful divisions, including Lander's own, 
were in easy marching distance of each other, by 
whom Jackson could have been surrounded, and 
compelled to surrender at discretion. But the over- 
cautious Commander-in-chief saw only the risks to 
be run, without at all noticing the great chances of 
success, and peremptorily forbade such an under- 
taking, after the preliminary arrangements had been 
made, ^hus, by neglecting the improvement of 
that splendid opportunity for the capture of " Stone- 
wall" Jackson, because it involved a little risk, he 
escaped forever from our clutches. General Lander 
saw it all, and keenly felt the disappointment, while 
the o:overnment's seemins; want of confidence in 
him caused him to decline more rapidly. That 
proved the deepest and deadliest wound that he had 



302 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

ever received. Though he continuecl to strike detach- 
ments of the enemy's forces keen and damaging 
blows, and personally superintended the great 
affairs of his laborious department, he continued 
to sink all the time. His unconquerable will kept 
him up, alive and active, when other men would 
haye "rone down forever. His intense desire to 
enter Winchester, Virginia, as a conqueror, had the 
effect of prolonging his life, and deferring the pe- 
riod of his exit. But this pleasure was forever de- 
nied him. Even his system of bronze and will of 
iron could not bear up against the heavy tide that 
sat in against him. His thin, pale face, and his 
eye, always, when in health, singularly piercing and 
expressive, with its strange and unnatural brilliancy, 
told the sad tale of coming dissolution. While the 
long-coveted opportunity to strike an effective blow 
for his outraged country, and cover himself with 
glory, for which his soul had feverishly hungered, 
appeared within his reach, his exhausted and over- 
wrought system gave w^ay, and his brave, noble, 
generous, and gallant spirit passed into eternity at 
four o'clock, !March the second, eighteen hundred 
and sixty-two ! He had coveted death upon the 
battle-field. Such he believed to be hi^lestiny. 
But in this, as in other desires of his heart, he was 
disappointed. The effects of disease, eager anxiety, 
constant vigilance, torturing wounds, and ceaseless 
activity completely wore out his once powerful sys- 
tem. His martial and patriotic work was done. 
His brilliant destiny was splendidly fulfilled. Over 
a startled and saddened nation the lightning spread 



GEXERAL LAXDER. 803 

tlie melanclioly tidings of his demise ! To each 
other, and every-where, it was whispered, in sub- 
dued and mournful tones, "The gallant and gen- 
erous Lander is dead ! " 

General Lander was the fiery Murat of the Ameri- 
can army. Under such a chieftain (we have no 
hesitancy in afiirming) as Xapoleon Bonaparte, he 
would have become as much dlstinsruished as the 
unfortunate King of Naples. His like will not soon 
again be seen. His profound, unselfish devotion to 
the American cause, his fearless attacks of the in- 
solent enemy, and his unwearying efforts to subdue 
the insurgents, placed him in the front rank of the 
patriots of the age, and secured the hearty approval 
and universal applause of loyal Americans. He was 
\vell known and highly appreciated by every true 
man. " General Lander," said one, " was the bravest 
of the brave, as perfect a specimen of lofty chivalry 
as Bayard himself. His bravery, generosity, and 
high-minded love of glory were proverbial. He 
leaves a splendid and spotless name, and his fame 
will ever be cherished by his countrymen." Liime- 
diately subsequent to his death said General Mc- 
Clellan, in his General Order : "As a military leader, 
he combined a spirit of the most daring enterprise 
with a clearness of judgment in the adaptation of 
means to results. As a man, his devotion to his 
country, his loyalty to aftection and friendship, his 
sympathy with suff'ering, -and his indignation at 
cruelty and wrong, constitute him a representative 
of true chivalry." 

A truer or more touching tribute could not be 



304 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

paid to his memory than tliis by one who knew him 
intimately in both private and public life, l^ov is 
it more than his merited due. His brief but mag- 
nificent career places him in history and in the 
affections of the people on the plane of such men as 
G-enerals G-rant, Rosecrans, and Meade. His stirring 
deeds will ever live after him, while his brilliant, 
just, and heroic conduct will be the theme of poets 
and historians so long as the American annals are 
read and studied. 

In this connection it is both pleasant and gratify- 
ing to be able to bear clear and distinct testimony 
to his moral excellency, as well as to his martial worth. 
He never permanently lost sight of the important 
fact that he was a mortal and accountable being, 
that his earthly conduct determined the nature of 
his eternal destiny, and that it was internal, moral 
worth that really made the man. The best, truest, 
and loftiest sentiments had been, at an early period, 
instilled into his mind by his noble mother. These 
sentiments fortified him in the day of trial, and 
modified his conduct throughout his entire life. He 
was not one of those strange beings, many of whom 
may be found in the army, who suppose that they 
display intellectual qualities and strength of mind in 
proportion to the audacity of their skepticism and 
the vigor of their sneers at Christianity. General 
Lander disdained being one of this class of "strong- 
minded" men. He ever cherished for Christianity 
the profoundest respect, though he may not have 
made a public profession until toward the close of 
his eventful career. He arrayed himself upon the 



GENERAL LANDER. 805 

side of truth, morality, and virtue. There he stood, 
as immovable as a rock. 

For the Bible he felt the profoundest regard, and 
in the study of its pages he took the liveliest in- 
terest. The Bible was his constant companion.* 
When upon the wide plains, stretching along the 
Ilocky Mountains, in the cities of California, or at 
his head-quarters, he spent some of his leisure in its 
perusal. He loved its simple beauty, was charmed 
by its xjrecious truths, directed by its precepts, and 
sustained by its consolations. Some of his last 
rational moments were spent in the fervent study of 
the sacred volume. Though w^e do not know to 
what extent his belief in Christianity acquired a 
practical character, yet we are satisfied that he ever 
gave his great influence to the religion of the Bible. 
This he did frankly, openly, nobly. But he had 
completed his moral work, his destiny was sealed, 
and it is confidently hoped that he " rests from his 
labors" and hath " entered into rest." 

•••" On entering liis quarters, an officer was surprised to see him 
reading the Bible. On seeing this surprise, the General explained 
to him that he believed, carried with him, revered, and read it daily, 
if practicable. This was noble in itself, and as an example. 

26 



306 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOX. 



CHAPTER IX. 

GENERAL LYON. 

FOR upward of eighty years tliis nation existed 
and acted as a imit, and, as a nnit, was un- 
precedentedly prosperous and happy. But, in 1861, 
a dark, portentous, and threatening cloud canopied 
the whole continent. The entire country was con- 
vulsed with the wild throes of incipient rebellion. 
Insolent treason had received its monstrous birth in 
South Carolina. It extended its power, and made 
its hideous presence felt every-where. It lurked and 
fattened into corpulency in all national places, while 
national officers proved themselves the most shame- 
less traitors. Patriotism appeared to have fled from 
the land appalled. Without a struggle to retain 
them, forts, arsenals, and armories were tamely sur- 
rendered to the insurgents by those to wliom the 
government had intrusted their safety. With in- 
decent haste Armstrong surrendered to the rebels 
the Pensacola ^avy-yard, with several easily de- 
fended forts. The Federal troops, guarding the 
frontiers of Texas from Indian depredations, were 
betrayed into the rebel power, and deserted by the 
hoary traitor, Ceneral Twiggs. The treason or im- 
becility of Commodore McAuley led him to place 
the J^orfolk I^avy-yard, with its nine millions of 



GENERAL LYON. 307 

property, into the greedy clutclies of tlie conspira- 
tors. From the Federal Government the thieving 
rebels wrested nearly all its public property. Indis- 
criminate robbery was conducted on a most gigantic 
scale by the Southern chivalry. Fears were seri- 
ously entertained by the loyal that, ere the govern- 
ment could marshal a force suflicient to take care 
of itself, all its property and authority would be 
appropriated by these bold, bad men. So prevalent 
and profound was the defection of the officers, that 
the government was at a loss whom to trust and 
whom to discard. 

But in this dry, arid, and hot Sahara of treason, 
an occasional oasis of loyalty presented itself, glad- 
dening the eyes and cheering the heart of the faith- 
ful. As subsequent events fully proved, a few pa- 
triots and soldiers, brave as Coesar, and as devoted 
as Garibaldi, still occupied and held posts of honor 
and trust. Amid the general treason sweeping over 
the country, they remained the unfaltering support- 
ers of the authority of the Federal Government. 
JSTothino: could move them from their alleo'iance. 
One of the best and bravest of these loyal officers 
was Nathaniel Lyon, commander of the United 
States Arsenal at St. Louis, Missouri. Of him and 
his noble deeds would we now speak. 

Li 1818, ITathaniel ]^. Lyon was born in the 
state of Connecticut. He sprang from an old, hon- 
ored, and renowned ancestry. His grandfather, 
Ephraim Lyon, was an officer under Sir William 
Johnson during the old French war. When the 
time came for him to decide in favor of English 



808 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tyranny or American freedom, lie was not long in 
ranging himself with the struggling colonists. He 
soon identified himself with the cause of the people, 
and aided in all their efforts to shake off the iron 
fetters with which the British were binding them. 
As an officer of the Army of the Eevolution he 
greatly distinguished himself by his valor, superior 
intelligence, and powers of endurance. 

His ancestors, upon his mother's side, were equally 
distinguished for loyalty and martial ability. Lieu- 
tenant Knowlton was young Lyon's maternal grand- 
father, and brother to Colonel Knowlton, who fell 
at White Plains. In the Revolutionary War these 
two brothers were side by side, and fought together 
at White Plains and Bunker Plill. L^pon the mon- 
ument beautifying the place, and commemorating 
the deeds of the heroes of Bunker Hill, is found the 
name of Colonel Thomas Knowlton. Such were the 
progenitors of IS'athaniel Lyon. 

Imbibing the sentiments guiding his illustrious 
forefathers in the Eevolutionary struggle, he was 
true to his country from lorinciple, not from profes- 
sion or interest. He was a patriot of the most per- 
fect integrity. This integrity was, if possible, aug- 
mented by the weighty obligations under which the 
Federal Government had brought him, by appoint- 
ing him a cadet to West Point Academy, in 1837. 
Unlike many others, he could not find it in his 
heart to desert and betray the generous friend and 
fostering parent that had made him all he was. 

To exhibit his high appreciation of the favor con- 
ferred upon him, and to qualify himself for efficient 



GENERAL LYON. 309 

military service, he diligently applied himself to his 
studies, and graduated, with great distinction, in 
1841. In July, of the same year, he was promoted 
to the command of Second Lieutenant. For several 
years he faithfully filled the station. From his first 
entrance upon public duty he discovered the pres- 
ence and possession of those qualities that so prom- 
inently enter the formation of the great commander. 
The gallant youth, in his early career, presaged the 
distinguished general in mature age. From the 
first he exhibited the energy, the integrity, the in- 
trepidity that have since so signally distinguished 
him in his more recent operations, and that have so 
endeared his memory to the whole nation. In 1847 
he was promoted to the rank and command of First 
Lieutenant. 

Upon the inauguration of hostilities with Mexico, 
Lieutenant Lyon and his regiment were the first to 
enter the field and strike the enemy a staggering 
blow. He shared with his regiment in all its dep- 
rivations, hardships, and toilsome marches, without 
a murmur or complaint. He was always contented, 
always cheerful. Holding himself in readiness for 
any action at any time, he never shrank from the 
performance of any duty, however arduous, nor 
from the bearing of any burden, however crushing, 
when demanded for the success of our arms. "The 
flag must be always kept up and afloat," was his 
ruling motto. He. felt that his own reputation, as 
well as the reputation of. the nation, was wrapped 
up in the reputation of the army. To raise its 
efiiciency to the highest point, and to perfect its 



810 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOE THE UNION. 

drill and discipline, he cheerfully subjected himself 
to the greatest labor and severest toil. 

Wherever the contest raged the most furiously, 
and the bullets fell the thickest, there young Lyon 
was generally to be found. On such occasions, 
amid such stirring scenes, his supei'ior powers shone 
out resplendently. The roar of artillery, the rattle 
of musketry, and the exciting din of the battle- 
field were necessary to call out his powers to the 
greatest extent. In the midst of the strife and car- 
nasre of contendino^ armies his mind acted with the 
greatest energy and accuracy. His face grew radi- 
ant with enthusiasm, his eyes flashed with the fires 
of military genius, and his whole deportment be- 
came grand, striking, and imposing. The inspira- 
tion of the gory battle-field transformed him into a 
martial giant of the grandest proportions. Then 
it was well for the enemy to keep from before him, 
or from under his trusty sword. He would strew 
his path with the dead and dying of his foemen. 

At the bloody and hotly-contested battle of Cerro 
Gordo, he covered himself with glory and his regi- 
ment with renown. On the crest of a steep hill 
one of the enemy's most powerful batteries was 
planted. It greatly annoyed the American army. 
To insure the complete success of the day, and to 
save our men from needless destruction, the battery 
had to be captured. For the execution of this haz- 
ardous design a squadron of infantry was detailed. 
In that gallant' band was the company of which 
young Lyon was First Lieutenant. IJp the rugged, 
craggy hill, toward the frowning battery, they moved 



GENERAL LYON. 811 

at a '• double-quick." On tlieir route they left 
many of tlieir companions weltering in their blood. 
The Mexicans worked their guns with the greatest 
rapidity and precision. Our troops melted away 
before their deadly fire like snow^ beneath a tropical 
sun. It was thought to be more than mortal man 
could stand. With the most intense solicitude and 
anxiety their movements were watched by our gen- 
eral officers. It was feared that they would falter. 
But no — on, on those intrepid fellows pressed toward 
the battery, that every moment belched forth de- 
struction from its red-hot throat, without showing 
the least signs of wavering. In advance of the as- 
saulting party, and nearest the enemy, was young 
Lyon himself! Thus they toiled up the steep ac- 
clivity. The crest of the hill was gained. The bat- 
tery was reached ; the gunners were bayoneted in 
their places ; the supporting infantry lied, panic- 
stricken, and the guns were ours ! The whole com- 
pany caught the daring spirit of the young Lieuten- 
ant, and the enemy was scattered like chaff before 
the wind. It was a sublime spectacle ! ^o scene 
could have more fully inspired the poet or artist. 

The next sanguinary struggle in which he ap- i 
peared a prominent actor, was at Contreras. The j 
battle was fierce and prolonged. The ground over 
which our forces fought was rugged, rocky, and 
hilly. The swarthy Mexicans were pi-esent in over- 
whelming numbers. With unusual stubbornness 
they resisted the advance of the Federal cohorts. 
Our well-served artillery mowed them down by the 
score. During the progress of this terrible engage- 



812 THE HEEOES OF THE WAE FOE THE UNION.' 

ment, tlie situation of tlie regiment with wliicli 
Lieutenant Ljon was connected became imminently 
critical. Swarms of cavalry confronted them. On 
the left, right, and rear, they were threatened with 
annihilation by myriads of Mexican lancers. These 
were trying circumstances. Their condition was 
desperate — appalling. But in those serried ranks 
there was a Lyon's heart that knew no fear. As 
the cloud of Mexican cavalry came thundering 
down upon them like an avalanche, the regiment 
quickly formfed a "hollow square," with which to 
receive the advancing host. A solid front of gleam- 
ing bayonets received and checked the surging 
masses, while a deadly volley was poured into their 
ranks with telling eflect. Soon scores of riderless 
horses, wild with aiFright, and furious from the pain 
of wounds, were scouring the extended plains. 
Until the next day this gallant regiment retained 
its position, kept at bay the horde of Mexican Cos- 
sacks, and laid many of then" number low in the 
dust! It was an awful conflict; but it resulted as 
gloriously to our arms as it did disastrously to the 
enemy. Then, in a solid phalanx, as conquerors, 
they retired from the scenes of that memorable 
contest. 

But while they were falling back upon the main 
body of our army, they were under the destructive 
fire of a Mexican battery. This could not be toler- 
ated; consequently, Lieutenant Lyon, with Cap- 
tains Casey and Messels, was ordered to take the 
guns. The order was no sooner given than these 
indomitable officers, as if fresh from their tents and 



GENERAL LYON. 813 

rations, hastened, with fiery ardor, to carry it into 
effect. The struggle was brief but sanguinary. The 
offending guns, with two hundred prisoners, fell into 
their hands. In achieving these great results, Lieu- 
tenant Lyon was a most conspicuous actor — took a 
most prominent part. In his brigade, as well as in 
his regiment, he was a leading, molding spirit. 

After securing his prisoners, receiving the con- 
gratulations of his superiors, and recruiting his ex- 
hausted energies, he reappears at Cherubusco in all 
the plenitude of his knightly qualities. At this 
memorable place the Mexicans were in great force, 
and strongly intrenched. To dislodge and scatter 
them was no ordinary affair. General Scott, in sur- 
veying the ground on which the enemy were posted, 
looked grave and thoughtful, saddened by the 
thought of the many noble dead who should lie in 
those trenches before the American ensign could 
wave over them. But there was no fear of the 
final result. The battle was opened, and blood be- 
gan to flow. The contest raged along our entire 
front with the greatest fury. It was unusually fierce. 
Durins: its continuance, Lieutenant Lyon and his 
noble band of veterans were exposed to the most 
galling and deadly fire. Amid the iron sleet that 
swept into his very face, he stood unmoved and 
grandly, like a molten statue. Up to the same 
steadiness he held his heroic men. His coolness 
and courage were two of the most conspicuous 
things of that bloody and terrible day. To a con- 
siderable degree "he and his intrepid command con- 
tributed to the defeat of the Mexican thousands 
27 



814 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

that threatened to swallow up the small American 
army. In his front the Mexican dead were piled up 
in heaps upon each other. The havoc was awful ! 

For his nohle hearing and masterly conduct upon 
this and kindred occasions, he was commended, hy 
Captain Morris, to the special notice of the Colonel 
commanding the hrigade of which his regiment 
was an integral part. Of his meritorious conduct a 
faithful record was made hy his commanding offi- 
cers. With him and his superh fighting they were 
perfectly delighted, predicting for him a hrilliant 
and distinguished future. On no one could they 
more fully depend for the accomplishment of any 
hazardous w^ork than upon him. They knew that 
the American " Cceur-de-Leon " would fail in his 
place, and in the performance of duty, if need be, but 
would never falter nor desert his post. lie knew only 
how to obey orders, not to take counsel of his fears. 

As might reasonably be expected, from what has 
been said, and in view of what he had done, Lieu- 
tenant Lyon was prominent among those who as- 
saulted and took the City of Mexico. He was among 
the first of our heroes — greater, mightier, and 
grander than those of their Spanish predecessors — 
wdio entered the halls of the Montezumas as con- 
querors. One of the dauntless legion who attacked 
the Belen Gate, covering one of the approaches to 
the city, he fell from the efi^ects of a ghastly wound, 
crimsoned with his own blood. It w^as a terrific 
struggle, sadly destructive of human life. Deeds of 
gallantry were performed, outrivaling those of the 
most magnificent knights of olden times. In the 



GENERAL LYON. 815 

front of these noble warriors was seen tlie manly 
form of Lieutenant Lyon. Here, at the Belen Gate 
of the magnificent Capital of Mexico, he did his 
best fighting, and achieved his greatest renown. 

The period of strife and carnage had gone by, and 
the season of reward had arrived. Accordingly, 
for his brilliant conduct and noble bearing at Con- 
treras, Cherubusco, and Belen, he was breveted 
Captain. Then, in testimony to his great worth, 
the great value of his services, the magnitude of 
his achievements, and the Iionorableness of his 
wounds, on the 14th of June he was promoted 
to the real rank of Captain in his old regiment. 
This distinguished rank of honor and confidence 
conferred upon him was not the fruits of any favor- 
itism, nor the result of the interposition of pow- 
erful friends, but the fruits of the most heroic con- 
duct and substantial merit. He had now taken the 
first step toward the object, for the accomplishment 
of which he had been so assiduously laboring. He 
was promoted upon the field of battle, with the tro- 
phies of victory about him, where the real soldier 
loves to secure his rewards. 

Upon the ratification of the articles of peace with 
Mexico, Captain Lyon returned with his regiment 
to the United States, and at once entered upon the 
arduous service required by an exposed and menaced 
frontier. For many long, weary, unrewarded years 
he continued in this malarious, laborious, and dan- 
gerous field. Lideed, till within a year or two he was 
found still standing, as Captain of infantry, between 
the frontier settlers and the threatening Indians, 



x 



816 THE HEROES OF THE T7AR FOR THE UNION". 

offering security to the former, and striking terror 
into the hearts of the latter. lie found his situation 
much more exacting and arduous than profitable in 
emoluments or honors. For the great labors he 
performed, and the great risks he had run from the 
Indians, and diseases of the most violent type, he 
received little pay, small credit, and no promotion. 
For upward of twelve years he wore the " double 
bars" that he won by his valor before the Belen 
Gate, in Mexico. His long years of fidelity, toil, 
and suffering did not open to him the avenues of 
preferment. He did not even receive the expressed 
appreciation of the government that he had served 
so well and faithfully. Though he had done much, 
the government was chagrined that he did not do 
more. 

But the time for the breaking up of the monotony 
of his life had come. The ambitious and unscrupu- 
lous South, then holding the reins of government, 
was determined to advance her interests at the risk 
of a war with the J^orth. Kansas was the first to 
feel her ruthless power, and the first to fall a prey 
to her rapaciousness. But Kansas proved refrac- 
tory, and refused to come under the iron rule of 
Southern despots, and the more dreaded rigor of 
their Northern tools. Consequently, the antzslavery 
citizens of Kansas were to be dragooned into supple, 
cringing, acquiescing minions of the dominant Ad- 
ministration, then in the clutches and under the 
control of the South. Upon them was to be foisted 
a constitution, such as they detested, and of sufiicient 
enormity in its provisions to forever damn a whole 



♦GENERAL LYON. S17 

people, by the physical force of the Administration. 
Over them a military despotism was to be estab- 
lished, and kept up until such time as they would 
cheerful!}^ comply with the will of the Southern 
oligarchy seated in Washington. The invaluable 
liberty of self-government — the privilege of determ- 
ining the character of their local laws — was to be 
ruthlessly wrested from them at the point of the 
bayonet. Captain Lyon was one of the officers to 
whom this despicable work was to be intrusted. A 
life-long De^nocraf, it was thought by a Democratic 
Administration that he could have no scruples in 
serving his party in any way, when the completion 
of the work was to be rewarded with the highest 
martial honors. But they had mistaken their man. 
Though a Democrat, he was, nevertheless, o^man — an 
honorable, scrupulously conscientious man. Ever 
obedient to his superiors, he hastened to the head- 
quarters of the Department of Kansas. Once there, 
he was not long in ascertaining the infamous nature 
of the work he was expected to perform. The bare 
idea that the Administration conceived him to be 
capable of doing such a work — of forcing a slave-code 
upon a freedom-loving people — provoked him into 
the use of language to which he was wholly unaccus- 
tomed — the language of rage, scorn, and denuncia- 
tion. Finding out that he was required to become the 
propagandist of African slavery by military force, 
with mingled feelings of shame and indignation he 
promptly resigned his command, and utterly refused 
bavins; the remotest as^encv in the nefarious business. 
He afterward felt the supremest loathing of the 



818 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE USION. 

tyrants engaged in despoiling the people of Kansas, 
all to perpetuate African slavery, "the sum of all 
villainies." Noble man! He was one of the very, 
very few who had virtue and courage enough to re- 
fuse serving the government in that odious work. 
Of all his brave and noble deeds, this was the bravest 
and noblest ! While plenty of others, officers of the 
Eegular Army, could be found mean and despicable 
enough to aid in crushing an innocent and magnan- 
imous people v/ith the military arm of our dishon- 
ored government — dishonored by a Northern man 
with Southern principles, and ruled by Southern 
masters — in order to fasten African slavery upon 
them and against their will, Captain Lyon hurriedly 
retired from so odious a business at the cost of his 
entire future prospects, so far as he could see. For 
taking this noble, manly step, we think more highly 
of him than for any other single act of a singularly 
excellent life. It raised him higher in the estimation 
of thousands of the best of men than did his heroic 
conduct upon the battle-fields of Florida and Mexico. 
He acted from the loftiest principles. He ascertained 
w^hat was his duty as a man and a Christian, then 
did it, at any and every cost. 

Yet for this brave and manly act, sufficiently dis- 
tinguished for its elements of genuine humanity to 
secure the full approval of every right-thhiking 
man, he was placed under the ban of the Buchanan 
Administration, and ostracized by the Southern fac- 
tion in power. This is one cause of Lyon remaining 
simply a Captain so long after his protracted, ex- 
hausting, and valuable services. The public func- 



GENERAL LYON. 319 

tionaries, by wliose imperial nod men lived or died, 
ascended or descended, were too indignant at his 
rebuking conduct, and too wholly engrossed with the 
promotion of the interests of their supple minions — 
their adroit and pliable tools — to do him any thing 
like justice for his past fidelity. Too corrupt and 
imbecile to appreciate the purity and lofty character 
of the motives prompting his magnanimous con- 
duct, they determined to crush him by neglect. 
They readily found of&cers who stooped to do the 
base drudgery that Lyon indignantly refused to do, 
and the foul, unmanly v^^ork was done. Instead of 
being promoted and trusted, as he richly deserved, 
Captain Lyon was anathematized, as were all who 
refused to do the imperious bidding of the slave- 
power at the Capital. 

Captain Lyon was not dismayed. He was sup- 
ported by the conviction that he had acted the part 
of a man — a part in the infamous tragedy of Kansas 
that imparts to it nearly all its shades of relief, and 
for which posterity will loudly applaud him. lie 
was consoled with the reflection that he had not de- 
served such treatment, and that he had afforded pro- 
tection and given security to the families on the 
frontiers of civilization from the firebrand and 
scalping-knife of the ruthless savage. His mind 
was as serene, his step as elastic, his spirits as buoy- 
ant, and his sleep as quiet after, as before, this oc- 
currence. 

Of no officers of the Regular Army, whose services 
were so long, so great, so arduous, have we any ac- 
count of their being neglected to so great an extent. 



820 THE HEROES OF THE WAU FOR THE UNI02T. 

Officers who had not seen haif the service, much les3 
deservmg in every respect, and much less devoted to 
their country's good, were promoted over and above 
him. 

But merit is always modest and retiring ; so Caj)- 
tain Lyon never obtruded his claims upon the at- 
tention of the government. And though merit's 
reward will come, as it eventually did to Captain 
Lyon, yet its approach is often irregular and tard}^. 
This truth entered the soul of the hero of Missouri, 
and, sustained by it, he faithfully and patiently en- 
dured those neglects, serving his country as in- 
trepidly as if his government had been the most 
lavish of its rewards. For so nobly enduring those 
harassing neglects and imbittering outrages he de- 
serves the greatest respect. The treatment received 
from the dominant Southern oligarchy developed 
traits of character, excellent and adorning, that the 
camp and battle-field failed to elicit, and prepared 
him for an enlarged field of usefulness. While the 
government aimed to crush an officer who refused 
to be a cringing tool, it was doing the country a 
great service by disciplining him for a new, 
broader, and higher department of martial activities. 

In all this Lyon appears to the best advantage — 
infinitely superior to his oppressors — and as a Cap- 
tain, he is more worthy of confidence and more 
deserving of praise than if he had secured the rank 
of Major-General by crawling in the dirt in Kansas. 

Of Captain Lyon and these incidents in his life 
Mr. Lincoln's Administration did not lose sight, 
and showed its good sense and its confidence in his 



. GENERAL LYON. 821 

loyalty, integrity, and ability by calling liim to the 
Department of St. Louis at an early period of the 
rebellion. In being intrusted with that post, he 
was intrusted with one of the weis^htiest commands 
in the whole Union. To fill his difficult and 
dangerous station reqnired much more than ordi- 
nary courage and ordinary abilities. In occupying 
St. Louis, he occupied and held the key to the 
whole of Missouri and the adjoining free states. 
If he proyed himself master of the situation — com- 
petent to grapple with the difficulties encountered — 
Missouri would be secured to and held in the 
Union, and the bordering free states sayed from 
the rayages of ciyil war. But, on the other hand, 
if he failed to retain what he already held, and 
gain more, the disastrous consequences to the Fed- 
eral Goyernment and the whole country would haye 
been inconceiyable in magnitude. 

On entering upon his official duties. Captain Lyon 
had the St. Louis arsenal, with its yaluable stores, 
at his command, but no soldiers to retain it, except 
a handful of " regulars," while hordes of secession- 
ists surrounded him. In this trying condition of 
things, the hearts of most men would haye sunk 
within them ; but his did not. The great and con- 
stantly increasing difficulties enyironing him but 
seryed to call out his great mental resources, and 
deyelop his rare military powers. 

Unfortunately for Missouri, as it was for Tennes- 
see, though a large majority of the people were loyal 
to the Federal Groyernment, the state officers, from 
the Goyernor down to the lowest, were rabid se- 



822 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE- UNION. 

cessioiiists and iinscrupnlous traitors. While tlie 
wicked and notorious Harris was dragging noble 
Tennessee into the desolate regions of Secessia, the 
equally wicked and unscrupulous Jackson was 
bargaining with Jeff. Davis for the ruin and enslave- 
ment of his native state. Missouri was to become 
the frontier state of the rebel dominions. Gov- 
ernor Jackson and his associated officers had made 
up their minds to leave the Union at all hazards, 
and cast in their lots with the insurgent South ; but, 
fully persuaded of the inflexible loyalty of many 
of the most respectable and influential citizens of 
the state, they found it expedient to disguise their 
purposes, and sustain the outward semblance of 
loyalty themselves. They knew that the announce- 
ment of their treasonable intentions would inevi- 
tably insure defeat, and cover them with infamy. 
But these cunning and unprincipled conspirators 
determined to prevent the one and avoid the 
other. To prevent the disquietude consequent 
upon the apprehension of treason, to lull the sus- 
picions of the loyal, and to relax the vigilance of 
the faithful masses, these official miscreants resorted 
to various expedients. Through the supple sub- 
serviency of the Missouri Legislature, they sought 
to tie the hands of the people, and carry on the 
work of demolition. Military laAvs, stringent and 
partial, were enacted; military appropriations, un- 
just and oppressive, were made ; and various mili- 
tary camps, for the ostensible purpose of state se- 
curity, were formed. After the organization of a 
sufficient number of troops, the first step to be 



GENERAL LYON. 323 

taken to insure their easy success, was the capture 
of Captain Lyon and the United States arsenal. 
They skillfully set about the work. Under the 
specious covering of loyalty they professed to con- 
duct all their movements. They knew that Lyon 
was not to be trifled with, and that he was no 
contemptible foe. They knew that if they suc- 
ceeded at all, they must convince him that, while 
raising, drilling, and equipping troops right before 
his eyes, they had not the least intention of rebel- 
ling or attacking him, but that they were only 
preparing to co-operate with him in his efforts to 
hold the state in the Union. They had under- 
taken an impracticable work ; yet it v/as their 
only resource. The angry Lyon must be caged and 
tamed before they could move a solitary step. 

But they were at a loss for a plan of operations 
that would insure ultimate success. At length they 
adopted the following scheme : In the immediate 
vicinity of St. Louis, Governor Jackson established 
a military camp under the command of General 
Frost. It was loudly and frequently professed that 
this camp v^as established exclusively for the or- 
ganizing of the militia in harmony with the recent 
laws enacted by the Legislature, for any emergency 
that might arise in the threatening future. Jack- 
son protested that he entertained no hostile or 
treasonable intentions, and that he designed placing 
the state in a safe and neutral position. While he 
thus succeeded in deceiving a few, he really over- 
did the thing, and ruined his cause with the many. 
His great zeal in protesting the purity of his mo- 



324 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tives aucl the loyalty of liis intentions created 
suspicion in the minds of the most intelligent 
patriots. From the first he was wholly distrusted, 
and watched with unceasing vigilance. Of nothing 
was Captain Lyon more fully satisfied than of Jack- 
son's treasonable purposes. Yet he seemed to take 
for granted that what the leading traitor affirmed 
was true. He permitted Jackson to believe that 
he was deceived, and that his perfidy was un- 
known to the loyal of St. Louis. 

The rebel camp, " Camp Jackson," was all astir 
with the work of preparation. Numerous recruits 
daily arrived. From all quarters of the state they 
flocked to the rendezvous. The most of those who 
resorted thither, especially the officers, were known 
to be rampant secessionists — secessionists of the 
most violent type. To say the least, these known 
and avowed secessionists were a strange agency 
with which to defend the state from Southern 
aggression and Southern control. It was like 
confiding the future of our country to the tender 
mercies of her deadliest enemies. 

But the recruits of "Camp Jackson" never in- 
tended doing aught but to fight for the advance 
of the rebel cause when ready for action. They 
were under oath to support the Southern rebell- 
ion. Though the old Stars and Stripes waved 
over the encampment, yet its various avenues were 
named " Jeft'. Davis," " Beauregard," " Pickens," 
"Joe Johnston," and "Jackson," while not one 
was designated by the name of a L^nion general 
or officer. This simple fact went far in determin- 



' GENERAL LYOIT. 325 

mg the cliaracter of '-^ Camp Jackson." Yet it 
was called a Union camp by tlie bitter enemies 
of the Union. Thus early in their career of trea- 
son they sought, as ever afterward through all 
the South, to succeed by falsehood and perfidy. 
Thus early they associated themselves and their 
cause with all that w^as low, mean, dishonest, false, 
and villainous. 

But Captain Lyon was not deceived. His hawk 
eye was upon the conspirators. He was not an 
acquiescing, idle looker-on. So skillfully did he 
manage his official affiiirs, and so successfully con- 
ceal his actions and purposes, while preparing to 
utterly break up the rebel camp, that they could 
not positively determine whether he suspected their 
designs or not. Consequently, they were anxious 
and ill at ease. It was essential to their success to 
ascertain the state of the enemy's mind and the ex- 
tent of his military preparations. To ascertain, 
therefore, the purposes of Captain Lyon, General 
Frost wrote to him that he w^as " continually in re- 
ceipt of information that he (Lyon) contemplated 
an attack upon the camp." Yet General Frost 
could not bring himself to believe that so true, 
loyal, and gallant a soldier would entertain such a 
project for a moment. Therefore, to allay all ap- 
prehensions, and remove all cause of trouble, he 
begged Captain Lyon to give his written denial of 
these rumors. But Frost's ingenious expedient did 
not succeed at all. Captain Lyon, fathoming his 
intentions, made no reply whatever to his dex- 
trous note. The fears of the rebel General arose 



326 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNI027. 

from his consciousness of guilt. He knew that he 
deserved to be attacked as a traitor, and hence ex- 
pected it accordingly. 

The silence of Captain Lyon was imperturbable and 
irritating to the haughty commander of the insur- 
gent camp. The specious pretenses of Frost went 
for what they were really worth. This cunningly 
written letter enabled him to fully penetrate his 
traitorous designs. Lyon was fully satisfied that, 
within a short time, the rebels would assail him, did 
he not previously attack them. Accordingly, his 
measures for the future were taken. 

To the rebel cause the capture and retention of 
St. Louis and its arsenal were of the most vital im- 
portance. Within the arsenal were sixty thousand 
stands of arms, with large quantities of military 
stores of every description. Had this post, at that 
critical moment, been under the command of one 
whose devotion to and love of slavery had perverted 
his mind and debased his morals, as was the case 
with many other officers, no human powers could 
have determined its disastrous consequences to Mis- 
souri. But, foruinately for Missouri, an officer had 
charge of the post whose allegiance was not im- 
paired by State Eight fooleries, whose eagle vision 
pierced through every traitorous disguise, whose 
courage and capacities were equal to any emergency, 
and whose stern, steady adherence to duty defied 
alike all rebel blandishments and rebel opposition. 

As soon as Captain Lyon reached St. Louis and 
ascertained the state of things in his department, 
he at once set about the organizing and drilling 



GENERAL LYON. 327 

regiments of Union volunteers. In tliis important 
work lie was aided by able and devoted patriots. 
Almost before the rebels were apprised of liis 
having enlisted any soldiers — so quietly and in- 
dustriously did he proceed in his work — he had two 
full regiments of the very best fighting material. 
The most of them were Germans, and had been in 
the military service of their own country ere they 
emigrated to this. To the Germans of St. Louis 
both the state of Missouri and the United States 
are indebted to a greater extent than is generally 
conceded. They promptly responded to the call of 
their adopted country, and threw themselves be- 
tween the rebel hordes and the threatened institu- 
tions of America. They were ready for service 
without much preparatory training. They had 
been schooled to the duties of the soldier in their 
father-land. They were the very soldiers demanded 
by the exigencies of the revolt of the South. Yet 
no class of Union soldiers have been more reviled 
by the rebels than the Germans. The reasons are 
obvious. They are numerous in the loyal armies, 
and they make the best of soldiers. They have 
very largely contributed to the defeats of the rebels 
and the triumphs of our arms, from the victory 
at Rich Mountain to the great triumph of Chatta- 
nooga. They are brave, persistent, contented, faith- 
ful, and ever-enduring. Of such men were the 
first regiments of St. Louis composed, and upon 
them Captain Lyon could rely to the utmost ex- 
tremity. Armed and fully equipped, these regi- 
ments were placed under the command of Colonels 



828 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOJT. 

Sigel and Boernstein. These talented, brave, and 
influential German oiiicers were with Lvon in both 
heart and hand. It was in this noiseless and quiet 
way that he prepared the means to save St. Louis 
and the national property within her bounds. 

Having completed his arrangements as best he 
could, without deigning to reply to General Frost's 
letter, Captain Lyon boldly marched out his legions, 
upon the day of its reception, to Camp Jackson. 
The rebels were thunder-struck. For nothing like 
this had they been looking. They had flattered 
themselves that they had succeeded in deceiving the 
Yankee commander. But, alas ! the despised Yan- 
kee was upon them with his miserable Dutchmen ! 
What were they to do? What could they do? 
They were not kept long in suspense. Having taken 
them completely by surprise. Captain Lyon deliber- 
ately surrounded their camp with his troops. This 
was done when the rebels were expecting, at an 
early date, to surround and capture Lyon. Thus 
hemmed in on every hand by Federal bayonets, they 
were overwhelmed with consternation. Their keen 
consciousness of treasonable purposes, and their 
helpless condition, paralyzed all their boasted ener- 
gies. With reference to what had just then trans- 
pired, they could hardly believe the testimony of 
their own senses. The tables had been completely 
turned upon them. They were at the mercy of the 
very " Lincolnites " and "Yandals" whom they de- 
rided, denounced as cowards, and promised to thrash 
into powder. Within the twenty-four hours subse- 
quent to the surrender of their camp, the conspira- 



GENERAL LYON. 329 

tors had intended attacking Captain Lyon in the 
arsenal, and taking possession of all his troops and 
stores. But the wily Captain had anticipated their 
movements just in time to frustrate their whole 
scheme, and take them in the net spread for himself 
and his command. 

Great soldiers were these rehels! They had ex- 
pressed a determination to neither ask nor give 
quarter. Their mortification knew no hounds, and 
their chagrin could not he alleviated. They were 
taken in their own craftiness. Their humiliation 
crushed out all their courage, so that they struck 
their colors to Lyon without striking a blow at Lyon. 
They were summoned to surrender unconditionally. 
A few moments were allowed them for deliberation 
and decision. At the expiration of the allotted 
time. General Frost surrendered himself and com- 
mand without firing a gun, or making the least re- 
sistance. A splendid beginning for the chivalry ! 

In triumph, with the proud consciousness of hav- 
ing performed a noble work, Captain Lyon con- 
ducted his prisoners of war through the half-rebel 
city of St. Louis. For himself, for his brave sol- 
diers, for the old Union, it was a glorious day — a 
period of great promise. The bold conspirators 
V7ere badly crippled in their very beginnings. All 
that was wanted to complete the good work so 
auspiciously begun, was to leave the Captain and 
his band of patriots alone. His plan of operations 
had been most skillfully devised, and its most im- 
portant conditions had been already successfully 
carried out. The towering crest of the secession 
28 



330 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

cockatrice had been brouglit down into the dust. To 
have reached its heart would have been an easy 
matter. 

But, unfortunately for Missouri, just as Captain 
Lyon was entering upon the completion of his 
work, he was imexpectedly superseded by General 
Harney. The government sufiered itself to be de- 
ceived and biased in its action by the false repre- 
sentations of malignant pro-slavery men, under the 
guise of Unionists. To save and advance slavery, 
and with it the rebel cause, they felt justified in 
resorting to the most objectionable and villainous 
expedients. These many-sided, unscrupulous, dis- 
guised secessionists seem to have had influence 
enough to have all the generals removed whom 
they could not use for the protection of slavery, 
and those appointed that would be their humble 
minions. Thus the representations of one irrespons- 
ible man, whose heart is with the rebels, but his 
voice with the Unionists, caused the removal of 
General Curtis. So, no doubt but what the baleful 
influence of the false representations of such men 
upon the mind of the President was the cause of 
the removal of Captain Lyon from the chief com- 
mand of the St. Louis Department. Listead of 
hastening to reward him for his great achievements, 
the government rebuked him by taking from him 
his command, and substituting a Southern man 
with Southern prejudices. The rebels were much 
elated, and the loyal men proportionably depressed, 
by the appointment of General Harney. A near 
kinsman of General Frost, the rebels took fresh 



GENERAL LYON. 831 

courage, and instantly rallied under the eyes of 
Lyon's successor. They looked upon General Har- 
ney as, at most, but a lukewarm enemy. The op- 
position with which they would meet from him 
would only render the contest interesting and pala- 
table. As he displaced the dreaded Lyon, the rebels 
felt themselves strongly drawn toward him. 

The removal of Captain Lyon at that important 
juncture was both strange and discreditable. It 
was manifestly intended as a disapproval of his con- 
duct. It could be regarded only as a public and an 
official censure. His zeal had outstripped the pa- 
triotism of the Wav Department, and his expedition 
against Camp Jackson had impaired the efficiency 
of the national traitors, and injured General Scott's 
*' erring brethren." It was resolved in the councils 
of AYashington to make him an example to all 
Union officers for all future time. 

Indeed, so highl}^ displeased and chagrined was 
the Commander-in-chief on the reception of the 
news of the capture of Camp Jackson, that the 
court-martial of Captain Lyon was seriously talked 
of. General Scott was near summoning him before 
a court of officers to account for his conduct, or be 
punished for his criminal interference with the rebel 
schemes. But as this extreme idea was given up, 
the next severest thi .g was done. He was super- 
seded by General Harney ! Thus was Captain Lyon, 
like other brave men, rewarded for his gallant deeds. 

It is alleged, in defense of the action of the au- 
thorities, that Captain Lyon exceeded his instruc- 
tions from head-Cj[uarters, and that there was really 



332 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOI^T. 

no cause for his attack of Camp Jackson, as it was 
Doth loyal and legal. But if Camp Jackson was 
not a rebel rendezvous, assembled together with hos- 
tile intent, then there never was such a thing as a 
rebel in the United States. 

Of this we will submit the most conclusive proof. 
Soon after the fall of Sumter and Mr. Lincoln's call 
for volunteers, General Frost, commander of the 
Missouri militia, advised Governor Jackson, in order 
to prevent the Federal Government from " increas- 
ing its force " at the arsenal, and in order to secure 
the command of the arsenal, the city and its various 
resources to themselves, to fill his ''very delicate 
position " by assuming the mien, and using the lan- 
guage of a devoted loyalist, while he was having his 
traitorous Legislature enact such laws and make 
such appropriations as would place the militia and 
the resources of the state completely in his own 
hands. Besides this, as his letter to Jackson fully 
shows, he advised him, while he concealed his hostile 
intentions from all but reliable friends, " to send an 
ao:ent to the Governor of Louisiana to secure mor- 
tars and siege-guns," to " send an agent to Liberty, 
Missouri, and capture the arms and ammuntion 
stored there by the United States, to establish a 
camp near St. Louis," and to '' send Colonel Bow- 
en's whole command of organized militia to said 
camp as the nucleus for the formation of an army." 
All this, and more, as subsequent events have de- 
veloped, was done by the rebel Governor. The 
camp was formed near St. Louis, and placed under 
the command of General Frost. Colonel Bowen's 



GENERAL LYON. 833 

command was first on tlie gronnd. "Whole compa- 
nies, notoriously devoted to the Southern cause, 
daily hurried to the rebel camp. Thousands of 
stands of arms, with cannon^ were shipped for their 
use from Louisiana.* Every thing distinctive of the 
whole affair clearly portended hostile intentions 
toward the Federal Government. 

One prominent feature of the rebel programme 
was to keep from the loyal men of St. Louis all 
knowledge of their affairs and purposes. Had they 
been loyal, as they professed, and had their inten- 
tions been compatible with the integrity of the 
Union, why did they resort to falsehood and de- 
ception to mislead the best citizens of Missouri? 
Had they been at all true men, they would have 
co-operated with Captain Lyon, the government's 
representative, as did the really loyal. The truth 
is, the Federal Government had no more malignant 
enemies in the slave states than it had in those 
composing Camp Jackson. Their only safety and 
their only hope of success centered in the immedi- 
ate capture of St. Louis and its belongings. They 
knew that they must fail if their designs were the 
least suspected. Consequently, in their estimation, 
any means that would insure success were justifi- 
able ; hence they protested loyalty to the Federal 
Government to the last, adding the crime of perfidy 
to the infamy of treason. 

Li perfect harmony with the secession code of 
ethics, the end, however injurious to some, war- 

*• These were guns previously stolen from the United States. 



334 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

ranted and dignified tlie means, however dishonor- 
able to all concerned. Hence the conspirators, 
headed by Frost and Jackson, did not hesitate to 
attempt the overthrow of the power of the Federal 
Government by professing deep attachment to it. 
They did not hesitate rallying under the " Stars 
and Stripes," that they might the more readily trail 
them in the dust, as they had done at Charleston 
and Memphis. Yet, when taken in the very act 
of high treason, they publish themselves the vic- 
tims of envy, and martyrs to their fidelity to the 
Union ! Like all the leaders in this causeless re- 
bellion, these Missouri conspirators were utterly 
devoid of truth and honor, except the honor dis- 
tinctive of rogues. They were the embodiment of 
all that deforms mankind and ruins nations. 

The well-known sentiments of the men engaged 
in the Camp Jackson enterprise, often previously 
expressed, were strongly corroborative of their 
treasonable designs. Jackson and Frost were both 
original secessionists. He who could regard the 
call for seventy-five tliousand men, with which to 
save the country from the horrors of disintegra- 
tion, as " illegal, unconstitutional, and revolution- 
ar}^," could at best feel but little solicitude for the 
safety and would do nothing for the perpetuity 
of the Union. Thus Governor Jackson wrote and 
felt. In addition to this, he called the efi:brts of 
the government to maintain its authority all over 
the Union, and to save itself from the rapacity of 
Southern treason, '' an unholy crusade " against 
the oppressed South. He who can thus speak 



GENERAL LYON. 835 

.n his official actions must be, as his subsequent 
career has proved him, a traitor of the darkest 

type. 

If aught else was wanting to justify Captain 
Lyon's conclusions respecting them, and the cap- 
ture of their camp, their subsequent conduct is all 
sufficient. Jackson went over to the Southern re- 
bellion both soul and bod}^, while his place was 
filled by a truer man.* Nearly every officer, with 
his "parole of honor" warm upon his lips, entered 
the rebel service. They had exerted themselves 
to the utmost to destroy the Federal Government. 
They were all malignant traitors — bitter enemies 
of human equality and universal freedom. That 
Camp Jackson was an assemblage of traitors, and 
that they required only some increase of strength 
to have marched forth to subiect Missouri to the 
dominion of Davis, and whirl her off into the de- 
stroying abyss of secession, is as certainly true as 
that South Carolina ever seceded. Consequently, 
the hue and cry raised against Lyon, and listened 
to by the conservative Commander-in-chief, was 
perfectly groundless, and the foul offspring of dis- 
loyalty and hatred. Captain Lyon never performed 
a more meritorious or better act than when he 
captured Camxp Jackson ! His loyal instinct and 
martial sagacity led him into the right course, and 
induced him to perform the right work. All this 
the government saw at a more subsequent period. 

•=• Gamble, the successor of Jackson, was as much secessionist as 
loyalist. He was furious and unscrupulous in his efforts to save 
slavery. 



836 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNI0I7. 

Future history will eulogize his conduct, and tlie 
people will award Mm the highest praise for that 
noble deed. 

The future commander arrived at St. Louis amid 
the ardent greetings of the disloyal, and the frown- 
ing despondency of the loyal. It was soon ascer- 
tained in what direction the wind blew. At once 
hostilities apparently ceased. An armistice was 
tacitly established between General Harney and 
the leading insurgents. An agreement was entered 
into by both parties that no hostile movements 
should be made, that no more recruiting should 
be done, and that the volunteers already organ- 
ized should be disbanded. These conditions ap- 
plied alike to the Federal Government and the in- 
surgents ! General Harney promptly carried out 
his portion of the agreement. Soon every thing 
was as quiet about St. Louis as if no insurgent 
horde had convulsed it a few weeks previously. 
But by negotiating with the insurgents. General 
Harney had humiliated the government and de- 
stroyed his own influence with the disloyal. They 
neither feared nor respected him who could stoop 
to negotiate with insurgents, and throw away all 
his military superiority. The rebels had secured 
all they desired, and for which they had asked. 
That which they most needed was time — ^time to 
organize their forces and prepare for battle. That 
necessary time was kindly given them by the 
generous Harney. They never intended carrying 
out their part of the agreement. They knew that 
Bo long as their bullets did not whistle about his 



GENERAL LYON. 337 

own head, General Harney would not disturb any 
of them, until it was too late to effect any good. 
They were certain not to seek his removal so long 
as he lounged away his time in his office, for he 
could best subserve their interests by letting them 
alone. They felt a degree of confidence or assur- 
ance that they might in perfect safety go on and 
make preparations on a gigantic scale to precipi- 
tate the state out of the Union, and to make re- 
lentless war upon the loyal people, provided they 
kept quiet about, and left Harney in peaceful pos- 
session of St. Louis. Thus it turned out in the 

» 

end. The traitors knew perfectly well that, if they 
had leisure to quietly prepare their forces, and ac- 
cumulate all necessary military stores, while Gen- 
eral Harney did nothing, St. Louis and all that 
belonged to it would ultimately fall into their 
hands. It had nearly come to this ere his in- 
glorious reign ingloriously terminated. The rebels 
were in ecstacies. 

General Harney was not a traitor at heart, 
but everv thino: under his strans^e administration 
moved on just as the rebels would have had it, 
had affairs been altogether in their own control. 
A reward was apparently offered for the betrayal 
of the Federal Government, by the government 
itself, through the arrangements its representative 
had made with the insurgents. Thousands flocked 
to the rebel standard. They believed that the 
Federal Government would tamely yield to the 
claims and exactions of the rebel Confederacy; 
consequently, they desired to be upon the winning 
29 



338 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

side. An ordinance of tlie secession of the state 
from the Federal Union was passed by the Missouri 
Legislature, and indorsed by the Missouri Governor. 
Men, money, and munitions of war flowed in upon 
the rebel leaders like water. All that they needed 
they received in opulent abundance. The bright- 
est prospects of success encouraged their hearts 
and strengthened their hands. The cloud hanging 
over the Union cause was deepening and widening. 
The rebel sun shone out resplendently. 

While the conspirators were laboriously prepar- 
ing for the final struggle, General Harney was 
unsuspectingly lying upon his oars, hampering the 
loyal citizens in their efforts to avert the storm 
gathering over them, and vainly hugged the phan- 
tom of peace when war was at the door. He was 
becoming more and still more distasteful to the 
patriots every day. He did not really intend com- 
promising the Union cause, yet it was eflectually 
done by his unaccoantable supineness. None but 
pretended Unionists — concealed secessionists — com- 
manded his confidence, or gained access to his 
ear. In his brief season of greatness and power 
he earned more infamy than applause. He seemed 
to forget that he was simply the humble servant 
of a powerful government, and not the govern- 
ment itself. Consequently, his only rule of action 
appeared to be that of self-gratification. What- 
ever was agreeable to. his feelings, harmonized 
with his objectional prejudices, or accorded with 
his notions of national fitness, received his ap- 
proval and indorsement." This course of ofiicial 



GENERAL LYON. 339 

conduct was any thing' but agreeable and advan- 
tageous to the truly loyal. Such was the incom- 
petency displayed in his brief sojourn in St. Louis 
that the government has seen fit to entirely dis- 
pense with his services. Though but little, if at 
all, beyond his prime, he is virtually, if not ac- 
tually, upon the retired roll of generals. 

Things rapidly grew worse. The threatening 
storm of rebellion grew greater and became darker, 
while the lightning of treason played in fitful 
gleams upon its somber brow. Confusion was 
worse confounded in General Harney's department. 
A fierce cry of alarm and indignation leaped from 
the lips of the loyal, as the lightning leaps from 
the storm-cloud. The danger to every American 
interest was imminent. The rebels were strong 
and insolent ; the Unionists feeble and disheartened. 
If General Harney continued at the head of afiairs 
in Missouri, as he had tied his own hands by an 
engagement with the rebels — an engagement that 
they did not respect an hour — no earthly power 
could save the state from its threatened doom. 
Consequently, for the immediate restoration of Cap- 
tain Lyon to the chief command, a universal de- 
mand was made by the St. Louis patriots. There 
was no hope but in his reinvestiture with the 
supreme authority in the department. The gov- 
ernment, startled by the sullen cry of alarm and 
discontent coming up from the loyal people, opened 
its languid eyes to the real condition of Missouri, 
and for the first time seemed to behold the dangers 
with v/hich she was threatened. For the first time 



840 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE lUTION. 

the Wasliin2:ton officials seemed to discover the 
merit of Lyon's conduct in capturing the rebel 
camp. They hastened to make amends for the 
affronts they had offered him, and to conciliate 
him by official courtesy. To allay the growing dis- 
content of the patriotic masses, to reassure the 
loyal, and to avert the impending storm, Lyon was 
promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and re- 
appointed Commander-in-chief. By a loud and 
prolonged shout the Unionists hailed the restora- 
tion of Lyon to favor and to power. It presaged 
their security and deliverance. 

But the secessionists, just on the eve of a great 
achievement, were frenzied with disappointment. 
They sorrowfully condoled w^itli each other, and 
with General Harney. Their right arm went with 
the superseded General. The right arm of the 
Union cause returned with the promotion and res- 
toration of General Lyon. A broad and cheering 
light overspread the Korth, while the deepest gloom 
enveloped the South. The secession darkness that 
had overshadowed St. Louis rapidly receded as the 
golden light of loyalty rolled on in its sublime mis- 
sion. The dismal night of rebel dominion was 
ended, and freedom's day dawned upon Missouri. 
The conspirators cursed, raved, denounced, and 
threatened the loyal people, but all was to no pur- 
pose. The rich and stirring scenes of Camp Jack- 
son were to be re-enacted, but on a much broader, 
bloodier battle-field. Many had entered the rebel 
ranks and espoused the rebel cause, from the per- 
suasion that there would be little or no fighting 



GENERAL LYON. 341 

in Missouri. Sucli were chagrined and sadly dis- 
appointed. General Lyon's reinvestiture with the 
chief command blasted all their prospects of a 
bloodless victory. Their mournful experience of 
the past fully assured them that Lyon would 
fight them to the last moment of his existence. 
Hence, fight they must, unless they dispersed and 
returned to their allegiance. 

Within the period of Greneral Harney's adminis- 
tration at St. Louis, the leading rebels had openly 
formed a camp at Jefferson, the Capital of Mis- 
souri. Here they enlisted, drilled, and equipped 
their men, while they were assiduous in gath- 
ering military stores. But as soon as General 
Lyon had the control of his own actions, and 
the command of the Missouri volunteers, he re- 
solved upon the attack and capture of the rebel 
establishment. Of his intentions they were soon 
informed. Alarm sat on every traitor's face, and 
fear filled every rebel's heart, on ascertaining that 
General Lyon, at the head of his brave legions, 
was rapidly advancing upon their encampment. 
Paratyzed with a sense of insecurity, they determ- 
ined to select a better and more remote loca- 
tion. The distance between the dreaded Lyon and 
the rebel horde was sensibly increased by the 
change. They ardently hoped that he would not 
follow them. But they were doomed to egregious 
disappointment. They had to do with a living 
General, not a fossil, who intensely hated seces- 
sionism, and was wholly intent upon its destruction. 
To escape the clutches of the pursuing Lyon, and 



842 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

to avoid a conflict with him, the rebels fled, in con- 
sternation, to Booneville. Here, with greater numbers 
than they had at Camp Jackson, far exceeding the 
Federal forces, and much better prepared for battle 
than at any previous period, General Sterling Price, 
the new chieftain, resolved to make a stand. Gen- 
eral Price Avas an untried commander. He had 
neither military knowledge nor experience ; but what 
he lacked in these essentials of the general he made 
up in assurance. Had his martial abilities been 
equal to the estimate that he placed upon them 
himself, he would have been a full match for Gen- 
eral Lyon. But between the one and the other 
there was the widest diflference — the greatest dis- 
23arity. Yet he was no contemptible adversary. Of 
fine, commanding appearance, captivating address, 
immense wealth, and vast influence over the vulgar 
masses. General Price was as well qualified to make 
the most out of the rebel material as any man in reb- 
eldom. Like Frederick the Great, he fled at his first 
battle ; but, goaded into recklessness by the stinging 
taunts of his men and the odium heaped upon him 
by the public press, he eventually distinguished him- 
self for great coolness and daring, while he became a 
very troublesome customer to our generals and 
armies. His success was ultimately greater than that 
of any rebel general who commanded in the West. 
He successively made Herculean efforts to release 
Missouri from the presence, and rescue her from 
the power, of the Federal army. For the rebel 
cause he cheerfully subjected himself to the heaviest 
losses and severest sufl[erings. His devotion to the 



GENERAL LYON. 343 

revolted Soiitli bordered on fanaticism, and carried 
him to the greatest lengths in risks and adventures. 
Still, he was always unpopular with Jeff. Davis. 
He had, by some means, incurred the tj^rant's strong 
dislike. Indeed, any man less enthusiastically de- 
voted to the insurgent cause, receiving the harsh, 
ungenerous, and unjust treatment from the petty 
despot enthroned in Richmond that Price did, 
would have retired from the rebel service in diso:ust. 
But General Price did no such thing. l!^o provo- 
cation, however aggravated, and no insult, however 
stinging, could dampen his ardor in, or alienate his 
affections from, the rebel cause. The energy with 
which he pushed his campaigns appeared to corre- 
spond in degree with the neglect, iujustice, and 
severity with which he was treated by his unscru- 
lous Commander-in-chief. He was resolved to suc- 
ceed. With his ragged and ill-fed corps he 
accomplished wonders, performing a prodigious 
amount of hard marching and hard work. He 
always moved with great celerity, never had ade- 
quate transportation, and carried wiik him his 
troops where others would have signally failed. He 
would attack our forces under circumstances in 
which most generals would industriously avoid a 
collision, inflicting serious injury upon us. Had 
General Price thus distinguished himself in the 
Union army, he would have mantled himself with 
immortality, and gone down to the grave honored 
as a hero by posterity. But he was a rebel — in a 
bad cause. 

Than General Price no one stood higher with 



844 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the Soutliern rabble, nor commanded more of tlieir 
confidence. By his diligence, commanding position, 
and impetuous ardor, he acquired a pernicious and 
fatal ascendency over the rebel mind and masses in 
Missouri. To that ascendency the ruin of the state 
is attributable. He beguiled the people into his 
army, and, with his debased and fanatical hordes, 
he swept over the country like a destroying angel, 
and desolated its fairest portions. For a century to 
come his distinct impress will be painfully visible 
and keenly felt. Able to command many of the 
men and much of the means of Missouri, he 
proved liimself to be their evil genius. His tem- 
porary success at Springfield aud Lexington so 
infatuated the rebels in his department tliat they 
readily left all, or invested all in their cause, and 
unmurmuringly followed whithersoever he led. 
This caused their hopeless ruin. "With the terrible 
force of the tornado, he careered through the length 
and breadth of the state, devastating all as he went, 
carrying weeping and lamentation to every home. 
Yet is he so popular w^ith the secessionists, that 
they never censure nor think of leaving him, with 
but few exceptions. All others may go astray and 
be guilty of serious blunders, but their chieftain — 
never. 

Such was the rebel commander with which Gen- 
eral Lyon was about to grapple. They were to 
measure their swords for the first time on the banks 
of the turbid Missouri Eiver. They were about be- 
coming deadly and life-long enemies. 

As already stated, General Price had taken his 



GENERAL LYON. 345 

stand at or near Boone ville. His numbers were 
'greatly in excess of the Federal troops. But this 
great disparity in numbers did not deter Lyon from 
making an attack, and was more than made up by 
the superior character of our volunteers, and their 
excellent discipline. Most of them, with many of 
their officers, had had a large experience on Euro- 
pean battle-fields. They had gallantly fought for 
liberty around the crumbling and despotic thrones 
of the Old World. Now they were struggling for 
the same great cause on the rich fields of the l^ew 
World. The cause for which they were fighting 
inspired them with indomitable courage, and gave 
them invincible vigor. 

Exhausted as were his men from their long and 
unpleasant march," General Lyon delayed not a 
moment in making his attack upon the rebel army. 
He would not give them time to recover from the 
surprise. occasioned by his unexpected arrival. At 
once, on the 17th of June, he formed his line of 
battle. The patriots were few in numbers, but 
every one was a giant. They were the avant- 
guard of liberty, and were in the act of opening the 
verce and bloody contest between freedom and des- 
potism. With a firm, steady step, and in solid col- 
umns, they moved upon the enemy. An animated 
and stirring picture presented itself to the eye of 
the artist upon that once peaceful field. The scene, 
too, was pregnant with great historical results. 

Grandly and calmly our army pressed forward 
toward the crest of the hill south of Booneville, 
upon which the rebels were posted. The sullen, 



846 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

leaden boom of the cannon announced the inaugu- 
ration of actual hostilities. For awhile these two' 
armies, so disproportionate in numbers, played upon 
each other with their field artillery. But little 
injury resulted to either army from the firing at so 
long a range. Though sufi^icient in numbers to 
have crushed the Federal force at one blow, yet 
they clung tenaciously to the protection afibrded 
them by the dense woods in Avhich they were posted. 
!Nothing, at first, could allure them from their shelter. 
General Lyon soon perceived that their defeat would 
be difficult while in the woods. To place his com- 
mand upon an equal footing w^ith the rebels, he 
resolved to draw them from their cover. 

After firing a few rounds of heavy shot, he or- 
dered a retreat in the direction of the river. As- 
tonished and confounded, his officers anxiously 
scanned his countenance to read, if possible, his in- 
tentions. They did not believe, they could not be- 
lieve that a hona-Jide retreat was intended. They 
were not long left in doubt. His radiant face, 
sparkling eye, and self satisfied mien plainly told 
them that he had no intention of retiring in such a 
manner from the contest just begun. They became 
satisfied that it was a movement, whatever was its 
seeming, that would ultimate in excellent results, 
and they readily carried it out. General Lyon and 
army retreated from before the rebels. 

As soon as the insurgents perceived that General 
Lyon was rapidly retiring toward his transports in 
the river, they started from their cover in irregular 
and hasty order. The Federals, "• the hireling 



GENERAL LYON. 847 

Dutch/* as the J were pleased to call the Missouri 
volunteers, were flying from the ?^^ensanguined 
field, and they greatly feared that they would escape 
them altogether. "Now is your time!" exclaimed' 
General Price. " Up, and at them, and they are 
ours \ " At them they hurriedly went, hut in a con- 
fused mass. With deafening yells and thundering 
cheers, they swept dov^n the declivity of the hill 
upon which tliey had heen posted, after the retiring 
Unionists, with the fierce energy of the tornado. 
On, on the excited rehels sped ; faster and faster 
they flew along the way, the distance between the 
one and the other decreasing at every step and every 
shriek. As General Lyon pushed the retreat, for a 
short period, to the " double-quick," the confusion 
and confidence of the pursuers were greatly in- 
creased. They kept no order, and observed no dis- 
cipline, in their headlong pursuit. They were hud- 
dled together in deep and heavy masses. The 
panting rebels were about reaching out to grasp the 
Federalists as prisoners. They felt certain of their 
prize, and were congratulating themselves upon 
winning so easy a victory. 

" Halt !" shouted Lyon, in a voice of thunder. 
In a moment that retreating army was a column of 
statues. " About — face ! " continued the Command- 
er-in-chief. "About — face!" swept down along the 
lines, like leaping thunder, from the lips of the field 
officers. As one man, the entire corps faced the 
enemy. The utterance and execution of this brief 
but momentous command arrested the pursuit of the 
rebel army, then a disorganized mass. Confounded 



848 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOE THE UNION. 

by the courage and audacity of Lyon and liis com- 
mand, the rebels halted, and knew not what they 
were doing. They stood aghast, appalled at the 
deliberate action of the patriots. Upon this very 
result General Lyon had calculated. His ruse took 
most admirably, and General Price eagerly bit at 
the naked hook. He had drawn the rebels from 
their cover, and now, as he had expected, they 
stood before him a disordered and helpless rabble. 
Now, it was his turn to play the man. 

Before the rebels could recover themselves, or re- 
sort to any measures of self-defense, the order, 
" Make ready — fire ! '' that ran along the Federal 
column, was answered by a vivid flash, the roar of 
musketry, and the deeper-toned voice of artillery. 
The field was instantly strewn with dead and dying 
rebels. In rapid succession, volley succeeded volley 
of well-aimed musketry. Into their very faces the 
deadly lead and iron were hurled. Beneath this 
wasting fire the insurgents swayed back and forth 
like the forest in a storm, then wheeled about and 
started for their cover and camp with a speed and 
passion far exceeding those with which they made 
the pursuit. Their resistance was little and feeble. 
The wild retreat became a terrible rout. 

While these stirring scenes were transpiring, 
away in the distance, upon an eminence, remote 
from all danger, was seen the chivalrous Jackson, 
with glass in hand, contemplating with alarm the 
disastrous scenes taking place in the valley that 
spread out at his feet. Fully satisfied of the defeat 
of his minions, he precipitately fled from the field of 



GENERAL LYON. 349 

his sliame, almost alone, and secured Ins person amid 
his sympathizing friends in a remote part of the 
state ! In another direction, at the same period, 
Greneral Price was seen flying in the greatest haste 
for that part of the river nnohstructed by Yankee 
transports and Yankee soldiers. He could not en- 
dure his disgrace amid the scenes it was effected. 
He fled to hide his shame and mortification from 
the scrutiny of those whom he had led into battle, 
but could not command. Meanly and dishonorably 
he permitted his troops, disorganized and unoffi- 
cered, to make the most of their critical condition. 
Making but a feeble resistance, the rebels hur- 
riedly fell back from before the Federal forces. At 
length, satisfied that they could not reach their 
covering without being badly cut up, they paused 
in their flight, and began to briskly return the Fed- 
eral fire. This was precisely what General Lyon 
wanted. Both armies were now in an open field. 
Both were equally unprotected. Both had to fight 
upon the same conditions, if at all. The rebels no 
longer had trees or logs behind which they could 
skulk, and, without damage to themselves, shoot 
dowm our men. Such had been their mode of fighting 
at the opening of the contest. They lacked either 
the courage or the magnanimity to show themselves 
while fighting an enemy altogether unprotected. 
But, afterward caught in a trap, they were com- 
pelled to expose their precious persons to the fatal 
aim of Federal marksmen. But they did not ex- 
pose themselves very long. Constantly and steadily 
advancing upon the disorganized horde of rebels, 



350 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

our troops, witli their brave officers at their head, 
poured into theui round after round of musketry, 
grape, and canister. The ordeal proved too severe. 
Veterans of a hundred battles could hardly have 
stood firm under such a galling and destructive fire. 
Their breasts were not of steel ; but by this storm 
of lead and iron they were mowed down in swaths, 
as the mower cuts down his grass. Again they 
staggered beneath the leaden hail, threw away their 
arms, and wildly fied from the field. With cheers 
like living thunder, our troops pursued them until 
perfectly exhausted. The rebels outran our soldiers ; 
and being swifter on foot than the Federals, many 
of them escaped the fate they so much deserved. 
In a few hours that proud, boastful, and disdainful 
army was defeated, demoralized, and scattered in 
every direction. Our victory was complete. The 
rebel organization was again broken into a thousand 
fragments. The coast was once more clear, and St. 
Louis Avas safe. Under the circumstances, this was 
much more than an ordinary affair. Upon the par- 
ties concerned it stamps the impress of greatness. 
Again General Lyon cut the cordon that held Mis- 
souri in ignoble vassalage to the rebellious South. 
Once more her shackles of despotism were cut to 
pieces, and she was presented with the privilege of 
rising to her just and appropriate position among 
her sister states. 

Associated with General Lyon, in this and subse- 
quent engagements in Missouri, were Major Samuel 
Sturgis, Colonels Sigel and Boernstein. They were 
the supporting pillars upon which he leaned. 



GENERAL LYON. 351 

Major Samuel Sturgis is a native of the Keystone 
State. In Sbippensburg he received his birth and 
being. He was the third son of poor but very 
respectable parents. His father carried on the hat- 
ting business. A prominent and active member- of 
the Methodist Church, James Sturgis, Esq., stood 
very fair in the estimation of his co-religionists and 
his acquaintances generally. His was a more than 
ordinary mind. His wit was keen, his discernment 
clear, and his sagacity quite unrivaled. His fine and 
superior abilities and varied attainments secured to 
him both influence over and offices from his fellow- 
citizens. 

By such a father young Samuel was trained to a 
life of morality and industry. His home culture 
was of the most excellent character. 

Like his father. Major Sturgis had marked traits 
of character. Pie stood alone in many respects. 
Even when a boy, his face was singularly handsome, 
while his body was of superior mold, development, 
and strength. Physically, he inherited every thing 
necessary to make him a superb military officer. He 
was evidently designed by nature to fill a more 
than ordinary position in life. Such aji idea was an 
intuition of the young man himself. He aspired to 
a life — a career — higher, wider, and more glorious 
than that promised by the business in which his 
father was engaged. He looked higher than his 
father's counter, and was haunted by visions of 
greatness and renown that could not be realized in 
his father's shop. 

So, through the influence of his father's political 



352 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

friends, Samuel received tlie appointment of cadet 
to West Point, in 1841. In the ordinary course of 
events he graduated with honor and distinction. 
At once polished, athletic, aspiring, and hopeful, he 
entered upon active military duties. Up to the out- 
break of the Southern rebellion he had served his 
government with distinguished ability. Like many 
others, he passed with honor through the Mexican 
war, earning promotion and gaining renown upon 
those ensanguined fields. At the period of which 
we are now writing he was in the prime of man- 
hood. He entered Missouri as a Major of infantry. 
In the battles that subsequently occurred he wielded 
a mighty influence, and greatly contributed to the 
success of our troops. For gallant and meritorious 
conduct on many well-fought fields, he was pro- 
moted to the high rank of a Brigadier-General. 

Colonel Frank Sigel is a native of Prussia. Im- 
bibing the principles of republicanism early in life, 
he gallantly fought for the prevalence of freedom in 
his own country. It was there that his military 
capabilities were developed, and his military experi- 
ence acquired. As the republicans of his own land 
were crushed by the iron heel of despotism, he 
became a refugee of free America. When seces- 
sionism raised its bloody head and struck at the 
liberties of the people, Sigel was among the first to 
spring to the relief of his adopted country. He 
soon rose to distinction in the Federal army, and 
displayed the highest order of ability upon numer- 
ous battle-fields. At the prolonged and terrible 
struggle upon the hights of the mountains of Ar- 



GENERAL LYON. 353 

kansas he earned, by his great skill and daring 
achievements, the high rank of Major-General of 
volunteers.* 

Colonel Boernstein was a Hungarian veteran of 
nearly threescore years. Venerable with years, his 
head frosted by the snows of many winters, he 
threw himself against the rebel hordes with a zeal 
as fresh and a vigor as great as if he had been but 
in his early manhood. On account of his gallantry, 
his heroic conduct, his enthusiastic opposition to 
Southern treason, the rebels who may survive the 
ravages of civil war will ever have occasion to 
remember him. Like the the old, venerable King 
of the Goths, of Toulouse, Theodoric, at the head 
of his invincible legions, insuring victory and car- 
rying dismay into the ranks of the enemy by his 
presence, the aged Boernstein never appeared at the 
head of his troops, leading them out to battle, but 
what he defeated and scattered, like chaff, his rebel 
antagonists* Victory appeared to be carried wher- 
ever his snowy locks were seen streaming upon the 
wind, as he swept along his lines in the hour of 
deadly conflict. His presence always infused his 
troops with the most ardent patriotism and .courage. 
VThere he was, there was no such thing as failure. 
He was a host within himself. Such were some of 
the men with which General Lyon had surrounded 
himself. They were military giants. 

After the decisive victory at Booneville, General 
Lyon's name became a tower of strength to the 

» Battle of Pea Ridge. 

30 



854 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE IJNIOIT. 

Union cause, find a terror to all grades of seces- 
sionists. To a wonderful extent, and for a season, 
he hushed the breath of the tempest and lulled to 
temporary repose the storm of treason that had 
rocked the whole state. Governor Jackson and 
General Price were fugitives. Taking advantage 
of the state of things then existing, General Lyon 
toiled both day and night for the complete suppres- 
sion of the rebellion, and the extirpation of leading 
secessionists. He found the task difficult and Her- 
culean. He beheld, with profound regret, that 
there was no limit to the fanaticism of the seces- 
sionists. N"othing was too sacred for them not to 
revile, and nothing was too excellent for them not 
to despise or trample under foot, if it hampered 
their movements or retarded the success of their 
schemes. Every thing, whether sacred or profane, 
spiritual or temporal — of either national or individ- 
ual relations, however venerable from its years, 
memories, or associations — every thing was polluted 
by their unhallowed touch, and rendered subsidiary 
to the advancement of their infernal cause ! General 
Lyon saw, with alarm, that disloyalty was a disease 
that distorted and perverted all the powers of the 
soul, and that so soon as a man yielded to its 
malignant power, he was ready to forswear his 
allegiance, and forsake both his God and kindred. 
Alas ! it is unquestionably true that the spirit of 
secessionism transformed men into all that was 
obstinate, malicious, cruel, and perfidious. There 
w^as no extreme of folly and wickedness to which 
they did not readily go to carry out their purposes. 



GENERAL LYON. 355 

Every effort that malice could inspire was put forth 
to subvert the Federal Government and ruin its 
supporters. 

In the estimation of General Lyon, the prevalence 
of such a spirit left but little ground to hope to 
win them back to loyalty. Indeed, its savage fierce- 
ness and cruelty appalled and convinced him that 
nothing but the most severe and stringent meas- 
ures — " war to the knife, and the knife to the 
hilt" — could reach the case and cure the disease. 
The only hope of success of preserving the Union 
intact he found in the total extirpation or humilia- 
tion of all who shared in the treasonable sentiments 
of the South. Mild measures, conciliatory measures, 
such as were advocated and thrust forward by the 
fragmentary remains of the exploded Democracy, 
would, he was fully convinced, prove measures of 
encouragement — would but confirm them in their 
disloyalty. Indeed, the rebels, from the leaders 
down to the most cringing minion, looked upon 
kind, forbearing treatment as evidence of national 
weakness and national cowardice. Thus they were 
emboldened in their treasonable purposes. Failing 
to appreciate or fathom the lofty motives leading 
to a conciliatory course of conduct, and judging us 
by themselves, the conspirators believed, or affected 
to believe, that the leniency of the Federal Govern- 
ment sprang from fear of retaliation, or the want 
of ability to act otherwise. The great blunder of 
the Administration was its half-war and half-peace 
policy — just stringent enough, during the first year 
of hostilities, to irritate, without producing any sal- 



856 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

ntary results. Thus the government cast its pearls 
before the insurgents, upon which they trampled 
with disdain, while they attempted to tear it to 
pieces. 

Of all this General Lyon was fully persuaded in 
his own mind, and, naturally of a kind and forgiv- 
ing nature, it sadly grieved him to he under the 
necessity of instituting hai'sh and severe measures ; 
but, in order to save the Union and the South 
itself from utter ruin, he was shut up to this policy 
alone. Consequently, he instituted and carried into 
effect the most stringent regulations. He ceased to 
toy with the sullen monster. Of the great wisdom 
of his conduct, the whole history of the war fur- 
nishes the strongest proof. He did not afflict the 
rebels with needless severity, but with an energy 
and promptness that ever convinced them that he 
was desperately in earnest, he did whatever he 
deemed essential to success. 

As had been anticipated, at length, after General 
Lyon had performed a large amount of hard work, 
and organized an army of considerable power. Gen- 
eral Fremont, on the 9th of July, superseded him 
in command of the " Department of the Mississippi." 
He was now only second in command, but as ardent 
a patriot and as superb a soldier as when Com- 
mander-in-chief. 

The loyal x>eople every-where and the Army of 
the Mississippi greeted the appointment of General 
Fremont to this department with unbounded ap- 
plause. In his abilities and loyalty they had the 
fullest confidence. That confidence has never been 




GENERAL LTON. 857 

impaired.'^ The powers at Washington could relieve 
him of his command, and officially degrade him, 
but they could not prevent the people from still be- 
lieving in him, while they regard him the victim of 
official jealousy and hatred. This is the irrevocable 
verdict of the people. 

That General Fremont was the right man in the 
right place was the universal conviction of the peo- 
ple. The Unionists of Missouri welcomed him with 
tears of joy. His presence inspired universal hope, 
removed all despondency, and awakened in the 
hearts of the loyal the greatest enthusiasm. His 
very name exerted a wide and salutary influence 
over the faithful masses. They had faith in him, 
in his abilities, in his future. His long and peculiar 
experience in handling and commanding men, in 
connection with his known energy, was a guarantee 
that the future of Missouri would be as brilliant as 
her past conduct had been heroic. Had Fremont 
been let alone, and permitted to work out liis ow^n 
role, the expectations of the loyal people would have 
been more than realized. But he was not only 
essentially interfered with by the government of- 
ficials, but was immolated to please the friends of 
slavery, and gratify the enemies of the Union. The 
loyal people, those who were interested most in the 
character of the Federal officers, did not seek the 
removal of General Fremont from the chief com- 
mand; but his political enemies, those of his own 
officers who desired his great place, and those who 

* This was written, and it was true, before he accepted the Cleve- 
land nomination. 



858 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

were prepared to sacrifice every tiling to the salva- 
tion of the " peculiar institution," were the authors 
of his disgrace and the hlasting of the hopes of the 
people. Nothing is more susceptible of proof than 
that he fell a victim to the malice of traitors and 
semi-traitors. Mr. Lincoln was beguiled into the 
sanction of the result of their wicked machinations. 
Than General Fremont no man more clearly dis- 
cerned the signs of the times, nor more fully per- 
ceived the real and varied wants of the occasion. 
He read the dim and distant future with much more 
than the accuracy of an ancient astrologer. Intu- 
itively he beheld the imperative necessity of dealing 
to slavery, the sole cause and the only life of the 
war, a deadly blow at once. His rare sagacity en- 
abled him to see that, without the absolute destruc- 
tion of slaverv, the rebellion could not be crushed. 
Of nothing was he so folly persuaded than that, so 
long as the Federal Government fostered the foul 
institution, and degraded the army into negro-catchers, 
the insurgents would be successful, and grow stronger, 
while we grew weaker with every recurring season. 
Then, that he might effectually prosecute the over- 
throw of the rebels, and forever prevent the recur- 
rence of such a state of things. General Fremont, 
with a heroism worthy so noble a cause, took the 
hoary monster by the beard, and flung him to the 
ground ! In other words, he had the excellent sense 
and courage to decree the death of slavery in his 
own department! This was a grand stroke of 
policy — the first great step toward the release of the 
United States from their shame, and the removal of 



GENERAL LYON. 859 

the only obstruction to the attainment of, unlimited 
prosperity and power. It took from the insurgents 
their very life-blood, and appropriated it to the 
Union cause. In this military order Fremont be- 
came the benefactor of his whole country. It was 
so regarded by the true and intelligent patriots of 
the loyal states. Thanks and congratulations poured 
in upon him from every portion of the faithful and 
humane North. All who were really devoted to the 
weal of their country, and not affected with the 
asphyxia nigrum, heartily approved the measure. 
It was generally hoped that a new and better day 
was dawning upon the people. 

But it proved too strong a measure for the in- 
dorsement of the conservative Administration. The 
intelligence of this bold but judicious movement 
greatly agitated the oificials at "Washington. The 
members of the Cabinet w^ere variously affected 
by the tidings from Missouri. Some advocated the 
immediate recall and punishment of the offender. 
Others recommended care, caution, and delay. Con- 
cealed secessionists spoke with indiscreet vehemence 
of Fremont's arrogance, and denounced, as unwar- 
rantable and despotic, his assumption of the legis- 
lative functions of Congress. *No other event had 
occasioned such fierce commotion in the pro-slavery 
ranks. It was a stroke that they keenly felt ; there- 
fore they fluttered in their nests like the wounded 
bird. It was inflicting a deadly wound upon the head 
of the great beast ; consequently they were furious with 
the conflicting emotions of fear 'and vindictiveness. 
They were not prepared to stand such an interfer- 



860 THE HEROES GF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

ence witli their darling institution — -their present 
support and future hope. 

Mr. Lincoln was the only one who appeared cool 
and self-poised. He alone was prepared to reflect 
upon the situation in such a manner as to bring 
him to rational conclusions. But even the Presi- 
dent was not ready to support what was obviously 
a necessary and an efficient order. "Whatever he 
may have thought or purposed to the contrary, he 
was carried along by the pro-slavery current, and 
compelled to instantly modify that part of Fre- 
mont's G-eneral Order that necessitated its exist- 
ence, and gave it its importance. It was feared 
that it might irritate the Southern chivalry — the 
cut-throats of our government — and by "firing the 
Southern heart," give us a little more trouble than 
would otherwise attend the rebellion. That Gen- 
eral Fremont's order was right, and embodied the 
arrangements imperatively demanded by the con- 
dition of things and the spirit of the age, will be 
attested by all future time. His only fault was, 
that he was a year in advance of the spirit of the 
government, and that he attempted a work, the 
glory of which the officials of Washington had re- 
served to themselves. 

Though General Fremont simply did, on a small 
scale, what Mr. Lincoln subsequently performed on 
a grand scale, yet he was a doomed man from the 
moment of the appearance of his emancipating 
order. Emancipation was all well enough, but 
Fremont could not -be j^ermitted to bring it about. 
He was too much in earnest, too daring, not suf- 



GENERAL LYON. 861 

ficiently obsequious to please the reigning dynavSty. 
Refusing to be the mere tool of designing and un- 
steady politicians, by those very politicians he was 
stripped of every thing, and degraded to the ranks 
of civil life. Jealousy, vindictiveness, and other vile 
passions of the human heart, were the cause of the 
country's losing the services of one of the best of 
officers and truest of patriots. The Administration, 
with the unscrupulous Secretary of War in the 
van, seconded by the tame and wavering Adjutant- 
General, resolved to have none in command but 
the most supple and cringing officers. That the 
policy and rude espionage that resulted in the re- 
moval of General Fremont from the Department 
of Mississippi were the work of Secretary Cameron, 
no one acquainted with the facts will question. 
His miserable pretext for his conduct was the 
numerous complaints that came up to Washington 
against him. But the character of those who com- 
plained, and the circumstances that called out the 
complaints, destroy all their force with every un- 
prejudiced and upright man. The accusers of Fre- 
mont were vehement rebels, wearing the garb and 
using the language of patriots, bad men who were 
ready for any enterprise that promised them ad- 
vancement, and disapx^ointed office-seekers ! At first 
these bad men approached the War Department 
with great timidity and many misgivings. They 
expected, unscrupulous as they were themselves, 
to find sufficient virtue in that department to pro- 
tect its servants in the faithful discharge of their 
duties, and to be slow in listening to censures upon 
31 



362 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

tlieir conduct. But tliey were agreeably disap- 
pointed, and found tlie War Department eager and 
read}^ to listen to any thing said against Fremont. 
Thus encouraged by an officer who could reward 
the meao'crest services in the most munificent 

o 

manner, charges against Fremont rolled in upon 
the War Department in overwhelming abundance. 
To these charges, the real nature of which was 
perfectly understood, a high but false importance 
was attached. Mr. Cameron had himself and Adju- 
tant-General Thomas appointed a commission to 
visit Fremont's department, to ascertain the truth 
of these allegations: Kever was there so grand a 
farce! i^ever were justice and honor so fearfully 
degraded and burlesqued! His doom was sealed 
before this illustrious commission left the Capital. 
After they had entered upon their investigations, 
those only who were Fremont's deadly enemies 
were examined. Prominent among them were a 
member of the lower House of Congress and one 
of Fremont's general officers. The former had 
sought a place upon his staff, but failed ; the latter 
desired to be Commander-in-chief. Then, on their 
return to Washington, before they immolated their 
victim, the Adjutant most indiscreetly published to 
the world the result of their investigations. While 
this valiant report furnished to the enemy inform- 
ation of the highest importance, it must have 
deeply moved the scorn of every truly loyal man. 
The gallant '' Pathfinder " was too independent, and 
too much disposed to think for himself, to suit the 
rulers of the Capital. Fremont was removed from 



• GENERAL LYON. 363 

tlie command of the Department of the Mississippi. 
His removal, when just on the eve of victory, and 
the temporary appointment of his enemy, the soft 
and pretentious Hunter, to his place, were regarded 
as the greatest calamity that could have befallen 
Missouri. The authors of it were anathematized 
by the people, and have never been forgiven. 

Upon entering his field of labor, General Fre- 
mont found that General Lyon had been doing a 
great work with a small and inadequate force. He 
feared that if the rebels really knew how small his 
army was, he would be crushed by overwhelming 
numbers. The Federal Government was poorly 
prepared to successfully grapple with the fierce 
spirit of secessionism that had risen up in Missouri. 
The rebels had exerted ever}^ power and exhausted 
every resource to retrieve their losses at Camp Jack- 
son and Booneville. From every direction, out of 
all adjacent Southern states, the insurgents came 
pouring into Missouri by thousands, under the com- 
mand of their best generals. They were intent 
upon crushing the Federal army before its numbers 
could be seriously augmented. General Thompson, 
a renegade American, a blustering pretender, and a 
fearless marauder, hovered in the vicinity of Xew 
Madrid with a considerable military force. Gen- 
eral Hardee, a charity scholar of the United States, 
occupied the mountain regions of Rolla, with sev- 
eral thousand rebels. General Price had taken com- 
mand of a large body of Missouri volunteers, and 
was encamped near the Arkansas line, in the vi- 
cinity of the Ozark Mountains. In easy supporting 



S64: THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE XJNIOK. 

distance of Price lay Generals McCiillocli and Yan 
Dorn, with myriads of rehel satellites. 

To oppose these rapacious sv/arms of traitors, 
General Fremont could command only a few thou- 
sand volunteers. ISTor could" he, in time for the 
struggle, so augment his forces as to make them 
equal to the rebel army. For the Union cause it 
was a dark and dano^erous dav. ISTone felt this 
more keenly or saw it more distinctly than Gen- 
erals Fremont and Lyon. Without a moment's de- 
lay, from the time he entered his department, he 
addressed himself with all his o-reat enero-y to the 
work of preparing an army equal in magnitude 
and discipline to the great work to be performed. 
Soldiers were enlisted, companies formed, regiments 
organized and drilled, and all military stores were 
rapidly accumulated. Second in vigilance, sagacity 
and energy to no general in the service of the 
United States, General Fremont soon infused new 
life into his whole department. Two men better 
qualified for the stupendous enterprise before them 
than Fremont and Lyon could not, perhaps, have 
been found in the United States. They created 
material, and increased their military strength 
where others would have utterly failed. In a short 
time there sprang up around them a formidable 
army. ilTor did it exist any too soon. The skill 
and indomitable perseverance of Fremont inspired 
every heart with the utmost confidence. It was 
felt that the illustrious " Pathfinder,' ' if untram- 
meled by " red tape," seconded by the government, 
while he was aided by the hero of Camp Jackson 



GENERAL LYO^-. 865 

and Booneville, would soon reduce cliaos to order, 
and annihilate tlie enemies of liberty. This would 
have been effectually accomplished had not the 
public functionaries at Washington fought Fremont 
more fiercely than they assailed the rebellion. Be- 
fore this formidable coalition of friend and foe, 
both Fremont and Lyon eventually went down. 

On both sides the most formidable preparations 
■had been made. At this important juncture the 
rebels had the decided advantage of us in their 
advanced preparations, in numbers enrolled, in 
organized armies, in guns and munitions of war. 
But the desperate energies of Fremont and Lyon 
soon supplied those deficiencies to a great and 
wonderful extent. But in spite of every effort 
that our generals could put forth, the rebels, for 
the time being, succeeded in having in readiness 
a larger armed force than they could command. 
This was their misfortune, not their fault. 

It was the intention of the rebel chieftains to 
strike two points at the same time. They hoped 
in this way to secure the control of the entire state. 
Generals Thompson and Hardee were to assail and 
take Cairo and Bird's Point; while Generals Price 
and McCulloch were, with their wild and savage 
legions, to enter and overrun the south-western part 
of the state. The latter were lying, with their hea^^y 
force, near the extreme part of South-western Mis- 
souri, and the former were stationed at l^ew Ma- 
drid. The plan was excellent, and if they succeeded 
in carrying it out, the Federal forces could not hope 
for victory. 



866 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

"With the rebel programme General Fremont was 
perfectly familiar. He knew the complexion of the 
blow that they were preparing to deal him. To 
avert it, and inflict npon them the injury they in- 
tended doing him, became his great business at this 
juncture. Consequently, General Lyon was sent 
out to defend and hold South-western Missouri. 
On his route to his head-quarters at Springfield, he 
attacked and broke up a rebel camp at Florida, 
chastised a detachment at Forthyse, and severely 
punished a band of insurgents at Til ton. Near the 
close of the month of July he reached Springfield 
in safety. On the 2d of August, having advanced 
to Dug Spring, twenty miles south-west of Spring- 
field, he fell upon General McCulloch's advancing 
brigades, and infiicted upon them very severe injuries. 
His assault was made with the greatest vigor, and 
sustained by the grandest heroism. Up under such 
fierce and impetuous fighting the rebels could not 
stand, and, hastily withdrawing, they left forty dead 
and fifty wounded on the field. As trophies of vic- 
tory, these fell into the hands of the Federal army. 

Ascertaining that McCuUoch's design was to fall 
upon him at Springfield, and, "by the very enormity 
of his numbers," cut him to pieces, Lyon slowly fell 
back upon Springfield, where he purposed staying 
at every risk. Here he purposed collecting together 
all the elements of a formidable army. But not- 
withstanding his mighty and sustained efibrts, his 
army could not be brought up in numbers equal to 
those with which the rebels were menacing him. 
For reinforcements he earnestly and frequently 



GENERAL LYON. 867 

called. But to those calls little or no response was 
made. General Fremont was doing for him all that 
was within the range of his abilities. He had his 
hands full at St. Louis. Generals Thompson and 
Hardee were about to carry out their part of the 
rebel programme. They were moving upon Cairo 
and Bird's Point with a large and well-appointed 
army. The small garrisons at these points could 
have made but a feeble resistance to the advance 
of so overwhelming a force. General Thompson's 
army was much larger than that with which Fre- 
mont hoped to defeat him. If Cairo fell, St. Louis, 
w^ith the entire state of Missouri, would also fall 
into the hands of the rebels. Besides this, they 
would have the full command of both the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers. General Fremont determined, at 
every hazard, to prevent such a fearful calamity be- 
falling the Federal cause. 

"While Thompson's attack upon Cairo engaged 
the attention of General Fremont, it also prevented 
him from reinforcing General Lyon, Without re- 
inforcements, Lyon's command, as the rebels hoped, 
would fall an easy prey into General Price's hands. 
Yet Fremont purposed sparing Lyon a few of his 
best regiments. But when in the act of succoring 
the brave soldier at Springfield, an incident occurred 
that came nearly ruining his whole department. 
With a less determined man at the head of aiiairs, 
Missouri would have easily fallen under rebel rule. 

The Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron, peremp- 
torily ordered General Fremont, just at this grave 
period, to forward at once and immediately, to the 



868 THE HEROES OF THE WAR EOR THE UNION. 

beleagured Capital, five of his oldest, best-drilled, 
and most efficiently armed regiments. As a soldier, 
General Fremont could do nothing but comply with 
the* Secretary's imperative order. In sending away 
hi^ five best regiments, he was sending away the life 
of his army and of Missouri. This made his situ- 
ation doubly desperate. The powers at Washington 
required him to perform a work of immense magni- 
tude, yet they took from him, at the hour of peril, 
a part of the means essentially necessary to do that 
for wdiich they held him responsible. The order 
from the frightened War Department was abso- 
lute, and his best regiments were immediately 
transported to the Capital. 

In contemplating the enfeebled and exposed con- 
dition of his department, after the departure of five 
thousand upon whom he most relied for success, the 
intrepid *' Pathfinder" was aflected to tears! JSTo 
wonder; for it seemed as if he was intentionally ex- 
posed to inevitable ruin. ^' To deceive the numer- 
ous hordes of rebels hanging upon the skirts of my 
army, and threatening me from every direction, I 
pretended," said he to a friend, ^' to have a muster- 
roll double in numbers to what it was. With all 
my men I was in danger of being overwhelmed 
simply by numbers. With these five regiments less 
I can hardly hope to keep the enemy out of St. 
Louis." It was a dark hour. Yet his spirits were 
but temporarily depressed, and soon regained their 
usual elasticity. The rebels never entered St. Louis 
but as prisoners. 

After losing his best division, as Jeff. Thompson 



dENEEAL LYON. 369 

was about attacking Cairo, General Fremont could 
not, if lie hoped to keep the marauders at bay, 
spare Lyon a single soldier. If either Cairo or 
Springfield had to fall, the latter must go by the 
board. Both places could not be saved with the 
small force at his command. The key to the whole 
department must be saved at every cost. Fremont 
could not do this, and relieve his brave coadjutor 
from peril at the same time. The evils resulting 
from the loss of Springfield would be much less, and 
be much more easily repaired, than those resulting 
from the loss of Cairo. To the adoption of this 
course he was driven by the inexorable circum- 
stances with which he was surrounded. Of two 
evils, both of which could not be averted, he selected 
the least pernicious. The best could not have done 
better. Yet, because he did not work out impossi- 
ble results, after he was ruthlessly stripped of his 
best troops. General Fremont was, from one extreme 
of the loyal states to the other, anathematized in 
the most unstinted measure. A sullen howl of ex- 
ecration rolled along the political horizon in tones 
of reverberating thunder. He was pronounced the 
murderer of the brave Lyon. He was charged with 
the atrocious crime of sacrificing him to his vanity 
and ambition. Then the whole was gravely charged 
to his imbecility. He had undertaken that which he 
bad no ability to accomplish, and the fearful eftects 
of his egotism fell upon the head and army of Lyon. 
But nothing was ever further from the truth. 
Instead of deserving the anathemas poured upon 
him like liquid fire, he merited the greatest ap- 



870 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION.* 

plause. Under the command of almost any otlier 
officer, with so few troops, wretched equipments, 
and want of effective organization, we would have 
lost both Springfield and Cairo. The wonder is not 
that he did not do more, hut that he did so much 
with such an inadequate force. Had it only been 
his own life instead of the life of the nation that 
was at stake, he would have gladly succored General 
Lyon, and received the deadly blow himself. He 
knew that, his condition and necessities unexplained, 
he would be subjected to the bitterest invective and 
denunciation. But he also knew that when the 
facts would come to light, he would be effectually 
vindicated from all blame and censure. Indeed, he 
did well; he achieved wonders, and is eminently 
entitled to our gratitude. With the most consum- 
mate dexterity he met his active and enterprising 
adversaries at every point, and baffled all their at- 
tempts to assail his posts or take his garrisons. 
Only for a while did they embarrass his operations ; 
but, gathering up his scattered forces, and bracing 
himself for the contest, he sent the assailants of 
Cairo back to their rendezvous, disappointed if not 
defeated. Cairo was saved by his shrewdness, and 
the key of the whole country w^as retained under 
the '' Stars and Stripes.'^ 

It was, therefore, evident that if General Lyon 
could not maintain his position with what men he 
had, he would be sacrificed before reinforcements 
could reach him. The men he had under him were 
of the best fighting material. The gallant Missouri- 
ans, the brave lowans, and the heroic Kansas regi- 



GENERAL LYON. 371 

ments, witli tliose of otlier states, formed his small 
but efficient army. With a few more such regi- 
ments, he could have been complete master of the 
situation. 

Generals Price and McCulloch were advancing 
upon him at Springfield with an army numbering 
three to his one. Of all this General Lyon was 
fully apprised. He keenly realized the desperate 
condition in which the wretched management of 
his superiors had placed him. He felt fully satis- 
fied that General Fremont had done all for his relief 
that was at all practicable under the circumstances 
surrounding him. The cringing fear of the Wash- 
ington officials that led them to unnecessarily mass 
troops at the Capital, and keep them in inglorious 
idleness, when the brave men of the West were 
threatened with annihilation by overwhelming 
numbers, both exasperated and disgusted him. 
But, notwithstanding all these discouragements, he 
did not falter for a moment in his purposes to meet 
and grapple the enemy. His lofty courage and 
noble patriotism bore him above and beyond the 
common infirmities of mankind. Yet he deeply 
felt the difficulties of his station. Deity alone 
knows the amount and keenness of the agany that 
wrung that great heart during the last dark week 
of his eventful life ! A somber cloud,, like a funeral 
pall, had rolled itself over his mighty soul. The 
anxiety that he felt was in itself sufficient to have 
crushed any ordinary man. Though he nobly 
breasted the storm, the future promised him noth- 
ing but grief and disaster. The idea that the noble, 



872 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

patiently-endnriug fellows wlio liad gathered around 
Mm at their country's urgent call should be sacri- 
ficed, needlessly, fruitlessly sacrificed, as in all likeli- 
hood they would be, through the blundering incom- 
petency of those at the head of aflairs, was more 
than he could bear with equanimity or contemplate 
with a spirit of resignation. For himself he felt 
but little concern at this awful period. He had no 
wife nor children to mourn over and suffer from 
his death. But it was otherwise with many of his 
brave soldiers. The painful suspense, the imminent 
dangers with which his heroic band was threatened, 
and the apparent indifference with which the gov- 
ernment regarded his earnest representations, kin- 
dled a fire of the most intense anguish in his brave 
and loyal heart. Amid these trying scenes his 
nights were sleepless, his vigilance unceasing, his 
manner mournful and abstracted, his countenance 
haggard, and his great soul depressed but not 
despairing. Under these circumstances, he could 
only adjust his feelings to his inevitable allotment, 
look with the burning eye of faith to the great 
Arbiter of battles, and hope, amid the elements of 
despair, for the best. This he nobly did. 

It wiis night — the 7th of August; the hush of 
profound repose rested upon Springfield and its 
vigilant guardians. But the indomitable chieftain, 
the faithful Lyon, found not temporary oblivion 
from his troubles in sleep. He watched with the 
sentinels. He was on the look-out for the approach 
of the stealthy foe. At length, as the murky night 
wore away toward its close, there fell upon his list- 



GENERAL LYON. 873 

ening ear, borne by the breath of the api:)roacliing 
morning, in muffled sounds, the thunder-tread "of 
marching legions. The enemy was coming. Gen- 
eral Lyon felt that the period for either fighting or 
retreating had arrived. But to retreat before fisrht- 
ing was what he and his braves knew nothing 
about; and, besides increasing the actual danger, it 
would be deeply dishonoring. They feared the 
slightest dishonor more than wounds, gaping and 
bleeding, or death, instant and on the battle-field. 
To have retreated without striking a blow for the 
old fiag and the freedom of Missouri, would have 
disheartened her citizens, ruined the Union cause 
in that section of the state, and inflated the rebels 
with intolerable insolence, while it would have ex- 
posed the loyal citizens to the rapacity of the un- 
principled enemy. General Lyon resolved to fight 
the rebels, and even to go out, meet, and attack 
them on their own chosen ground. The night of 
the 7th was selected as the period for the attack ; 
but circumstances over which he had no control 
induced him to make a temporary delay. The 
order for the movement was recalled. 

"Within his army and among his officers the sub- 
ject of retreating was freely discussed. JSTumbers 
of the officers, in consequence of the great disparity 
of numbers, advocated the immediate evacuation of 
the place. Yet all were willing to abide by the 
final decision of their illustrious chief. 

" When do we leave Springfield V asked an officer 
a day or two before the battle. 

" Not before we are whipped," bluntly but court- 



874 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION". 

eously replied tlie General. His last and unaltera- 
ble resolution had been reached. He concluded 
not to give up Springfield only through the potency 
of disaster. He hoped, in the . good providence of 
God, to defeat twenty-five thousand rebels with six 
thousand patriots. And, as the sequel will show, he 
came near doing it. 

The severity of the ordeal through which he was 
passing, and the keenness of the agony that he ex- 
perienced, may be clearly discerned in the following 
language, said to have ftillen from his lips a short 
time before the engagement : 

" AVell," said he to an intimate friend, " I begin 
to feel that my term of soldiering is about com- 
pleted. I have tried earnestly to discharge my whole 
duty to the government, and appealed to it for re- 
inforcements and supplies ; but, alas ! they do not 
come, and the enemy is getting the better of us !" 
Unfortunate, neglected man ! For the sacrifice of 
his life, just in its prime, others must answer to pos- 
terity. His earnestness in crushing out the rebellion 
actually cost him his life, without securing the full 
approbation and co-operation of the government. 
How deeply he must have felt when uttering the 
complaint, '^Alas! they do not come!'^ Through this 
sentence his bleeding soul may be seen looking out. 
It is a verdict against the government. It could 
have reinforced him ; it could have saved him 
and his brave army from ruinous defeat. " But, 
alas! they did not come!" How mournfully de- 
spondent this language ! Contemplating this in- 
domitable General in his critical situation, and 



GENERAL LYON. 375 

in wliicli tlie Federal authorities left him helpless, and 
where he was likely to lose his troops and hard-earned 
laurels, our hearts are moved to the profoundest sym- 
pathy. For him we most deeply feel, and execrate 
those who coolly left him to his threatened fate. 
The tear that hung upon his drooping eyelash when 
saying, "Alas ! they do not come !" starts a respons- 
ive one in our eyes. We can not, would not refrain 
from weeping on account of his premature and need- 
less death. Had he fallen while struggling on equal 
terms with the enemy, his death would have added 
new luster to the American name. But his excla- 
mation, " Alas 1 they do not come !" unfolds a tale 
of neglect, of sacrifice, and of anguish ! His keen, 
piercing eye looked out over the wdde plains for 
the desired reinforcements in vain. ~Eo deliverers 
.were approaching. The " noblest Roman of them 
all" was permitted, without an adequate effort to 
save him, to sink beneath the waves of secessionism 
to rise no more ! 

Myriads of confident rebels were swarming over 
hills and through vales, within a few miles of Gen- 
eral Lyon's encampment. The adroit rebel General -^ 
sought to surround the Federal army, and take it and 
its General prisoners. A few more days of wait- 
ing and inactivity would have resulted in such a dis- 
aster. Consequently, impelled by the proximity and 
imminence of the danger. General Lyon summoned 
a council of officers on the evening of the 8th of 
August. The propriety of going out to meet the 
enemy, and give him battle when least expecting it, 
was freely discussed. From such a hazardous un- 



876 TEE HEROES OE THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

dertaking nearly all the officers shrank, as being too 
unequal and too desperate in character. Xearly a 
unanimous voice was uttered in favor of evacuating 
Springfield, and retreating toward Kansas or Rolla. 
To this decision there was, besides that of General 
Lyon, but one firmly dissenting voice. Against 
such a rash and ruinous step General Sweeney most 
eloquently pleaded and indignantly protested. He so 
forcibly urged the absolute necessity of fighting at 
all hazards, that it was agreed to that the enemy 
must be promptly and immediately encountered 
upon his own field. The rebels were to be attacked 
by our forces in two columns, and at two diflerent 
points. General Lyon was to lead, in person, the 
main body, while Colonel Sigel was to command 
the others, and attack the enemy's right flank. 

Early on the evening of the 9th of August Gen- 
eral Lyon and Colonel Sigel led out their respective 
columns toward the enemy, strongl}^ posted on "Wil- 
son's Creek, fourteen miles from Springfield. Colo- 
nel Sigel was to gain the flank of the enemy, and^ 
attack them with spirit as soon as he heard the guns 
of General Lyon in front. At an early dawn both 
the commanders reached their destinations, and took 
the rebels, in front and flank, by surprise. 

As soon as Colonel Sigel heard the boom of 
Lyon's cannon, he assailed the rebel rear and flank 
with an impetuosity that carried every thing before 
it. His success at first was all that could have been • 
desired. But, in witnessing the retreat of large 
bodies of the rebels in a southerly direction, and not 
hearing the reports of Lyon's guns, he supposed 



GENERAL LYON. 877 

that the enemy was routed, and, pausing in his ad- 
vance, he waited, as it had been agreed upon, for 
the appearance of Lyon and his men, to form a 
junction with him. In a short time a large body 
of troops were descried approaching him from dif- 
ferent directions. " They are Lyon's men," was ex- 
claimed all along his line. With careless ease and 
unloaded guns they awaited the approach of their 
friends. But in a few moments the silence was dis- 
turbed by the thunder of two batteries opening upon 
them in front and on their flank. In consternation 
our men cried out, " Lyon's men are firing upon us !'' 
The confusion that ensued was awful. So confident 
were Sigel's troops that Lyon's forces were firing upon 
them in mistake, instead of rebels that had come 
upon them under the " Stars and Stripes," that he 
could not induce them to fire until it was too late — • 
until they were within ten paces of the muzzles of 
their guns. A hurried and irregular retreat com- 
menced. Colonel Sigel's army was disorganized, 
and became a mass of flying fugitives. He lost all 
his guns and hundreds of his men. The result was 
most disastrous. 

That which aggravated the disaster, and materi- 
ally contributed to the disorder and insubordination 
consequent upon such a surprise, was, four hundred 
of Colonel Soloman's three months' troops, unwill- 
ing to go into the fight at all, just at this sad junc- 
ture stampeded in a body, leaving their comrades 
to their melancholy fate. Their defection and con- 
tempt for the orders of their officers did more to 
bring about Sigel's defeat than the actions of the 
32 



BT8 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

rebels tliemselves. Such troops are not of tlie 
American army, though they may be in it. They 
forfeit, by such base conduct, all title to ordinary 
respect. Their memories, covered with the odi- 
um of cowardice and desertion, will be execrated 
by the latest generation of patriots. Let these 
four hundred share in the contempt of all true 
men ! 

In front of the rebel forces the line of battle had 
been formed under the eye and direction of General 
Lyon. The insurgents were taken by surprise, but 
soon gallantly rallied, and stood manfully to their 
ground. Then, one of the most sanguinary battles 
of the war, considering the numbers engaged, began. 
All along the entire front of the loyal army the rattle 
of musketry and the roar of cannon were terrific. A 
handful of intrepid men were grappling with a huge 
army ! But the multitude of rebels did not daunt 
them in the least. Though most of our men had 
never drawn a trigger upon an enemy, yet they 
fought with the steadiness and valor of veterans. 
With a sullen determination to conquer, they went 
into the engagement. But one purpose and one 
soul animated them upon that great occasion. . They 
endured and fought with a heroism that finds no 
parallel for its magnificence in the deeds of the 
past. Before the concentrated and well-directed 
fire of the rebels their ranks melted rapidly away. 
But this did not dampen their ardor nor quench 
their zeal. The gallant First Missouri performed 
wonders, and sufiered in the most heroic manner. 
"With the most of their number stretched upon the 



GENERAL LYON. 879 

battle-field J either killed or wounded, they still 
pressed on as victors, until recalled, and their place 
filled by the brave First Iowa. 

At the head of the attackinsr column General 
Lyon was ever to be found. He disdained the idea 
of exposing his men to dangers that he did not 
cheerfully encounter himself. lie felt it to be be- 
neath a general to be any-where but at the head 
of his army. He left it with cowards to skulk and 
occupy places of safety, whether commanders or 
commanded. He was no drawing-room General, 
occupying, on the day of battle, a position remote 
from all danger. In conformity with these manly 
convictions of duty, he was perfectly reckless of his 
person. Wherever the fighting was the most des- 
perate, there was General Lyon, encouraging and 
steadying his men. He determined to set his men, 
on that terrible occasion, an example worthy of their 
fullest imitation. He felt called upon to do and 
dare every thing likely to insure success, or prevent 
a disastrous defeat. His intrepid conduct electrified 
his forces, and inspired them with a spirit of heroic 
emulation. They determined not to be behind their 
General in fearless daring. IsTor did they fail to 
make him their exemplar throughout that bloody 
day. 

^hus far every thing had progressed finely. For 
some time the rebel troops were pressed back and 
cut to pieces by our brave boys. But this decided 
success did not continue long. The rebels soon 
rallied and recovered their self-possession. They 
threw upon us heavy lines of fresh infantry that 



380 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

could not be met by fresli troops on onr side. From 
tbe first opening of the battle General Lyon had all 
Ms available forces engaged. The receding tide of 
the insurgent cause was arrested, and with it the 
advance of our intrepid volunteers. 

In a few hours the engagement had become most 
terrific. The rebels fought with increased fury. 
Our troops were thrown upon the defensive. "While 
the insurgents were pressing upon our decimated 
ranks with thousands of their fresh troops, General 
Lyon was twice wounded, and had his horse shot 
from under him. This event had a strangely de- 
pressing eifect upon his mind. Extricating him- 
self from his fallen steed, he arose to his feet ex- 
claiming, " The day is lost ! " For a moment, but 
only for a moment, he did not seem to be himself. 
"^"0, no," replied Major Schofield, "the case is not 
yet desperate. Let us make another effort." An- 
other tremendous and concentrated effort was made. 
The remnant of the heroic First Missouri v>^as again 
in the front ranks. Osterhaus's battalion showed to 
the enemy a firm and fearless front. Totten's bat- 
tery of six pieces was posted in a most command- 
ing position, while Colonel Blair's troops poured a 
galling fire into the rebels, repulsed by the " grape 
and canister" of Totten's guns. The battery of 
Lieutenant Dubois had opened upon the eas^rn 
slope of the valley from which the rebels were 
emerging. Captain Lathrop and his regular riflemen 
rendered most efiicient aid in the bloody struggle. 
The Iowa and Kansas volunteers were stationed 
whore their presence was most needed, and where 



GENERAL LYON. 881 

they stood as immovable as a rock, and fought like 
tigers ! * This bold and concerted movement carried 
death and dismay into the crowded ranks of the 
enemy. They were ^adding under the terrible 
pressure of our legions. The field began to wear 
a brighter aspect. The clouds of coming disaster 
began to clear away. Every regiment of the Union 
army was fighting up to the utmost of its ability, 
while brave officers and men were falling in every 
direction. 

But the rebel generals, perceiving that the cause 
was going against them, hurried up to the scene of 

*The First Kansas Regiment was commanded by Colonel G. W. 
Beitzler, of Lawrence. This was one of the best regiments, in 
every respect, under the command of General Lyon. Early in the 
battle, Colonel Deitzler's horse was pierced with four bullets. 
But just as the noble beast fell, the Colonel himself received an 
ugly wound in his thigh. Tying a handkerchief around the wound, 
tie mounted a fresh steed, and continued to direct the actions of the 
regiment until, from the loss of blood, he could no longer maintain 
his seat in his saddle. 

This was a superb regiment. Every company was commanded 
by an experienced, zealous, and daring man. These captains had 
been schooled for the battle-field in severe and frequent contests 
with the " border-rufiians " — the elite of Southern aristocracy. They 
knew how to meet the rebel foemen by having previously met them. 

Among these singular and heroic men was Captain Clayton, 
of Leavenworth, commanding Company E. He went into the bat- 
tle with seventy-three^ and came out with twenty-six uninjured men! 
Toward the close of the contest, the company got separated from 
its own regiment and joined what it supposed to be the First 
Iowa. In a moment the Captain discovered that he had joined 
the enemy. The regiment proved to be under the leadership of the 
scoundrel Colonel Clarkson, of "border-ruffian" notoriety. In 
their excitement the rebels did not identify the Federal soldiers. 
Retaining his presence of mind, Captain Clayton did not even 



882 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

action all tlieir available troops. Of tliese a vast 
multitude approached our lines. Determined to 
arrest tlieir movements at once, General Lyon 
ordered an Iowa regiment to charge the approach- 
ing column. But this gallant regiment had lost 
their Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel. They had 
no controlling, guiding head. '' Lead us, General,'' 
said the lowans, "and we ivilH'^ Leaping from 
his horse, he placed himself at their head. A wild 
shout of delight greeted the General as he planted 
himself in their front. Their bayonets w^ere fixed. 

apprise his own men of tlieir situation. ^^ Boys,^^ said lie, in order 
to extricate his command from its perilous situation, "you are 
crowding here; oblique to the right." This was done. They were 
fifty paces away before the rebels suspected any thing wrong. An 
officer rode up and asked, "What troops are you ?" "The First Kan- 
sas," was the Captain's prompt reply. "Who are you?" the Captain 
asked in return. "The Adjutant of the Fifth Missouri." "South- 
ern troops?" "Yes, sir," replied the rebel Adjutant, putting spurs 
to his horse. But in an instant Captain Clayton dragged him to 
the ground, and, with a loaded pistol at his breast, ordered him to 
give up his sword. This he did. By this time the rebels had dis- 
covered the nature of the case before them, and immediately pre- 
pared to fire. Clayton still retained his hold upon the rebel Adju- 
tant, keeping him between the rebels and his little band. In this 
situation the Adjutant was most exposed to the rebel fire. "Order 
your regiment not to fire," said the Captain. This the Adjutant 
refused to do, but commanded his men to open fire regardless of 
himself. He was instantly shot fatally and bayoneted. This rebel 
Adjutant was certainly a brave fellow. 

The rebel Missourians fired upon Captain Clayton's small band, 
and felled about a dozen of his men. Replying with one volley, the 
Kansas boys ran for their lives. They soon reached one of their 
own regiments, and they were safe. The remarkable coolness and 
astonishing intrepidity of Clayton saved his command from being 
cut to pieces or captured. 



GENERAL LYON. 883 

Their muskets were bronglit to the position of a 
charge. Shoulder to shoukler they stood, solid as 
a cemented wall, awaiting the command. They 
did not have long to wait. " Forward ! Charge ! " 
Bhouted the General, and away they sped at a 
"double-quick." Ere they had traversed half the 
distance between them and their numerous enemy, 
a rebel ball struck General Lyon in the chest, and he 
fell! " O, my army!" were his last and expiring 
words! Goaded into frenzy by the fall of their 
chief, the lowans pressed on and over his dead 
body, attacked with fury, and scattered like chaff 
the rebel hordes. His death was but partially 
avenged. The loss that the army sustained in his 
death could not be repaired by the death of any 
number, however great, of rebels. With the fall 
of General Lyon came a general, but brief, cessa- 
tion of hostilities. 

The command of the army, after this great bereave- 
ment, devolved upon and was promptly assumed 
by Major Sturgis, of the Regular Army. While, 
in connection with his officers, he was deliberating 
upon what action to take, or what course to pur- 
sue, the rebels fell upon his whole line with the 
impetuosity of despair. The assault was most gal- 
lantly met, and successfully repulsed by the Fed- 
eral troops. The rebel hordes were cut down by 
scores, or driven in confusion before our men. An 
advance of the whole line was ordered. With the 
crushing tread and destroying power of an earth- 
quake, they advanced upon and hewed down the 
disorganized and retiring insurgents. Success was 



384 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

returning to the Federal standard, while the " Stars 
and Bars" were flying from before our triumphant 
squadrons. But just at this juncture, when the in- 
surgents had fallen back upon their camps, and 
were preparing for a general retreat, and when 
our troops were ordered to charge with the bayo- 
net, the exhaustion of the artillery ammunition was 
announced to the commander. This was a sad 
discovery. Without the aid of the artillery no 
charge could be made. At once the order for the 
general movement was recalled, and, for the want 
of ammunition, our victory was left incoVnplete. 
Thus it was made a drawn battle. That the rebels 
considered themselves defeated, and had given np 
all idea of further resistance, is evident from the 
fact that they destroyed their large train of stores, 
ruunitions, and camp equipage. They feared their 
capture by the Federal troops. They burned most 
of the tents in which they had spent the previous 
night, ^one but a badly defeated army would 
thus wantonly destroy its very life, or that which 
was essential to its efficient existence. 

If other evidence of their defeat was needed, the 
fact that they did not attempt to pursue our re- 
tiring army is most conclusive. They did. not at- 
tempt to molest them in any manner, and under 
the skillful generalship of Sigel and Sturgis, our 
troops, with all their sick and stores, reached 
Kolla in safety. 

Had not our ammunition given out, the rebels 
would have been followed up and scattered to the 
winds. But it was glory enough for one day, for 



GENERAL LYON. 385 

six thousand men to compel twenty-five thousand to 
enter upon an ignominious retreat. It was a mag- 
nificent acliievement. Our army was saved the 
disgrace of flying without any resistance. But he 
who had nobly worked out these results did not 
live to enjoy the triumph, nor share with his gallant 
troops the joy of success. He went down at the 
head of his men on the path to victory and glory. 
Thus this hero gloriously fell, as he had antici- 
pated, upon that bloody field. In his death the 
brightest intellect in Fremont's department was 
extinguished forever, and as brave a heart as ever 
throbbed in the breast of man eternally quieted. 
In cool courage, in pure patriotism, in intrepidity, 
all that makes up the excellent soldier, he had but 
few equals and no superiors. His rare and magnifi- 
cent qualities of heart and head have been fully 
attested by the magnitude and excellence of his 
works. His devotion to his lohole country was as 
fervent and inextinguishable as it was pure and ele- 
vated. He lived, acted, and died alone for his coun- 
try's well-being. Opulent in worldly things, no 
pecuniary considerations could have induced him to 
do and endure in the Federal army as he did, es- 
pecially when apparently neglected by the Federal 
authorities. That he did not seek distinction, only 
so far as doing right could distinguish him, is 
clearly inferable from his entire career. He was as 
unselfish as he was brave, and as unambitious, ex- 
cept of the right, as he was loyal. The promotion of 
others over him, though younger and less deserving 
33 



886 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

than liimself, did not, while he may have keenly fe]t 
the wrong, impair his devotft)n to his country nor 
in the least diminish his fidelity as an officer. This, 
it is true, may he regarded a minor virtue, yet 
many do not have even this to adorn and heautify 
their memories. 

He was the great warrior — the Marion — of 
18G1. As such he will live as long in the recollec- 
tions of the people, and share as fully in their affec- 
tions, as the American nation survives the vicissi- 
tudes of existence. General ]!^athaniel Lyon was a 
great and good man, free from many moral hlem- 
ishes and defects attaching to and distinctive of 
many similarly situated. He loved the right and 
adhered to it in all his life-deeds. Consequently, 
his command cherished for him the highest regard, 
and reposed in him the greatest confidence. On all 
occasions he proved himself the soldier's friend. 
Over his premature hut honorahle grave those who 
fought under him, and who will survive the ravages 
of this cruel war, will strew flowers and shed tears 
of affection. His death saddened a nation's heart. 

To the name and memory of General IlTathaniel 
Lyon every true American should how in reverence. 
*' Brief as was his career in the fierv scenes of this 
Satanic rehellion, it was illustrious in his steadfast 
devotion to the flag of his country, brilliant in his 
achievements under its resplendent folds, and glori- 
ous in its termination on one of the consecrated 
fields of America's bloody conflicts for its life. I^o 
brighter name has emerged from the smoke and 



GENERAL LYON. 887 

tumult of this awful strife with rebellion — no- nobler 
record will be transmitted from this evil day to 
our posterity, reading the luminous record of 
America's triumph over her intestine foes, than 
that which tells that Lyon gave his life for, 
and in his will bequeathed all his estate to, his 
country !" 

By a strange concurrence of events General Lyon's 
lifeless Jiody was left on the field of battle. It 
tranquilly reposed where he fell. The cry of anguish 
wrung from his soldiers by his fall, and the wild 
tumult of the conflict, fell alike unheeded by the 
dull ear of death. To the earnest protestations of 
affection there was no response. 

Left upon the ensanguined field, his body fell as 
a trophy into the hands of his murderers. At the 
Lands of those who once knew and loved him, but 
then estranged by the diabolical spirit of revolt, he 
received rude but respectful sepulture. His grave, 
with the graves of his fallen braves, was within the 
rebel lines. For the time being, until the rebel 
hordes were driven from the country, it seemed im- 
possible to do aught else than resign his body to 
the custody of those who, when alive, he loathed. 

But one- of the General's friends thought difier- 
ently. She determined to secure, at whatever risks 
she might encounter, his precious dust, and bestow 
upon it the last sad expressions of afiection. As he 
had hazarded every thing, even life itself, for her 
and hers, she felt that it was her turn to hazard 
something to meet the claims he had upon her, and 



888 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMON. 

attest lier high appreciation of his valorous deeds. 
She would rescue his body from the pollutiug cus- 
tody of the despoilers of her native state, whatever 
it might cost of time, of exposure, of suffering, or 
of effort. She loould secure and take charge of that 
body until it could be delivered into the hands of 
his immediate kindred. 

Thus the heroine of Missouri, Mrs. Phelps, wife 
of the Hon. Colonel Phelps, determined to act. Her 
home was at Springfield. She was- truly loyal to 
the " Stars and Stripes." She had seen much of 
the lofty and heroic conduct of General Lyon. She 
had witnessed the agony occasioned by the last fiery 
ordeal through which he passed. Her heart was 
deeply touched by his misfortunes. For him she 
had cherished the highest regard, and to him she 
had given her fullest sympathy. 

Accompanied by an intelligent and trusty servant, 
Mrs. Phelps set out upon her sad but noble mis- 
sion. She resolutely braved every difficulty and 
surmounted every obstruction. To succeed in her 
enterprise was no easy task. But she grappled with 
every danger and opposition with an energy that 
ultimately insured her full success. She persevered 
in her unaided and melancholy search among the 
buried heroes until the body of General Lyon was 
found and identified. 

As tenderly as if it had been the body of her son, 
she conveyed the remains of the General to her res- 
idence and gave them a temporary home in her 
family vault. Here his body was vigilantly guarded 



GENERAL LYON. 889 

until an opportunity presented itself to send it to 
his native state. ^ 

j^oble woman ! Slie performed a noble work ! 
It entitles her to the lasting gratitude of every 
patriot. She preserved the remains of our General 
from outrage and insult; and through her energy 
and humanity they now repose with those of his 
illustrious ancestors. 

The body of General Lyon now sleeps amid his 
kindred in his own native state. He has returned 
to the place where he first breathed the vital air, 
and there we propose leaving him and his history 
until summoned from the grave by the Judge of all. 

*"His burial in his native town proved a stirring event. His 
nephew, Arthur Lyon, fifteen years old, was one of the chief 
mourners upon that sad occasion. Learning the facts in the case, 
he immediately left school, and on the next day after seeing his 
uncle buried enlisted as a soldier. He desired to fill his place, and 
avenge his death. 



390 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 



CHAPTER X. 

Webb's cross-roads.^ 

THE severe rigor of winter was gradually giving 
way before the warming breath of spring. The 
great din of preparation for the ensuing campaign 
had measurably subsided throughout our camps in 
various parts of Kentucky. The citizen volunteers 
had been drilled into hardy and skillful soldiers. 
They were ready and eager for the sanguinary con- 
flict. They had grown weary in waiting the tardy 
movements of their methodical officers. They had 
confidence in themselves, confidence in their cause, 
and confidence in their leaders. Their tireless de- 
votion to their new profession, and uniform soldierly 
conduct, inspired their generals wdth the greatest 
hopes for the future. They felt that they could 
trust such men, and implicitly rely upon such soldiers 
in the hour of trial. There was mutual trust and 
mutual hope. All felt that the period for action 
had arrived. All were restlessly impatient to buckle 
on their harness and go out to meet the foe. 

* Why this has been called the battle of "Mill Springs" has 
never been clear to my mind. The place where Zollicoifer was de- 
feated is known in all that region ai " Webb's Cross-roads." Mill 
Springs is ten miles from this place, and on the other side of the 
Cumberland River. 



Webb's cross-eoads. 391 

The gloom that had settled down along the Union 
horizon and depressed the loyal hearts had been 
heavy upon ns for some time, and a sighing for re- 
lief was heard every- where, and came up from every 
direction. Since the great disaster at Bull Eun hut 
few had the courage to look up, or the heart to 
speak hopefully. iTothing less than a decisive vic- 
tory over the insolent and vanting foe could bring 
back the old fire to the loyal eye or flush the pale 
cheek with enthusiasm and hope. It had been a 
dark, very dark season. The only rays of light that 
shot across the brow of gloom that frowned upon 
us came from Camp Wildcat and the triumph of 
General Garfield over Humphrey Marshall. 

The feeling that somethiiig must be done, and 
that speedily, to lift the curtain of darkness envel- 
oping us was universal. At the period of which 
we are writing, the cry in favor of active operations 
reached the ears of our generals in thuAder tones. 
They could disregard the idll of the people no 
longer. Indeed, the most, if not all, of the generals 
felt precisely as the people felt upon the subject. 
The resolution to do something worthy our cause 
was speedily taken, and measures entered upon to 
carry out that resolution. To this no one dissented; 
from it no one receded. The hour for action had 
arrived. 

Our principal danger grew out of the presence 
and menaces of General Zollicoffer's rebel force 
upon the Cumberland River. Subsequent to his 
severe repulse at Camp Wildcat by General Schoepf, 
lie advanced to the Cumberland River and took up 



392 THE HEKOES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

liis position on its northern bank, at tlie moiitli of 
"White-oak Creek, and opposite Mill Springs, on 
the southern bank. This location was admirably 
adapted to military purposes. For two miles back 
from the river the country was cleared of all tim- 
ber and diversified by numerous hills, some of which 
were of immense altitude. Six of these hills, com- 
manding each other and the approaches to the 
camp from every direction for miles around, were 
strongly and skillfully fortified. Extensive breast- 
works and numerous redoubts rendered it a formida- 
ble position. " Zollicofter's Den " was no trifling 
obstruction to our southward advance. The situa- 
tion was naturally strong, but the vast amount of 
labor expended upon it by the rebels rendered it 
almost impregnable. In this position ZoUicofler 
formed the right wing of the insurgent army. 

Within sixteen miles of this rebel post was Gen- 
eral Schoepf , with a division of Federal troops. 
Somerset, the head-quarters of Schoepf, was our 
base of operations in that part of Kentucky. But 
that division was too small to even think of attack- 
ing the insurgents in their stronghold. 

To make a front and direct attack upon such 
formidable works, and occujDied by so strong an 
army, would have been very destructive of human 
life, and would have utterly failed of success. With 
nothing would Zollicofl^er have been better pleased 
than with such an attack by our troops. The only 
plan that promised a success equal to the imperious 
demands of the Union cause was that of surround- 
ing or outflanking him in his intrenchments. Upon 



Webb's cross-roads. 393 

this mode of attack General Buell and liis associates 
had fully decided. General Schoepf was to descend 
the Cumberland and assault the rebel works on the 
north-east, while General Thomas approached and 
assailed them on the south-west and rear. For the 
consummation of this every thing seemed to progress 
finely. Hopes of surprising Zollicoffer in his for- 
midable works were cherished by the best generals. 

To carry out his part of the general programme, 
General Thomas broke up camp near Lebanon, 
Kentucky, on the 1st of January, 1862, and marched 
for the rebel works at Mill Springs by way of Co- 
lumbia. There moved out with him the Kinth 
Ohio (German), Colonel McCook ; the Second Min- 
nesota, Colonel Van Clear ; the Tenth Indiana, Col- 
onel Manson ; the Fourth Kentucky, Colonel Fry ; 
and Colonel Wolford's cavalry, and one Ohio bat- 
tery. Their march was one of the most annoying, 
laborious, and exhausting character. Kain fell al- 
most incessantly, and in torrents. The roads were 
wretched, especially after they left Columlna, with 
often nothing more than a path wide enough for a 
single footman or a single horse. Frequently they 
bad to cut a road through the dense forests and 
thick undergrowth of the South ere they could, 
move at all. Only from three to six miles could 
they march in a day. Drenched, covered with mud, 
weary, faint, and hungry, they arrived at "Webb's 
Cross-roads, late on Thursday evening, the 16th of 
January, 1862, twelve miles south-west of Somerset. 

On the next night, the Fourteenth Ohio, Colonel 
Steadman, the Tenth Kentucky, Colonel Harlan, 



394 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

a portion of the Eigliteentli Regulars, and three 
companies of the First Regiment of Michigan Engi- 
neers and Mechanics, with an Ohio hattery, arrived 
within a few miles of General Thomas's camp. On 
the morning of the 18th, General Schoepf sent the 
First and Second Tennessee Regiments, with the 
Twelfth Kentucky and an Oliio hattery, to form a 
junction with General Thomas at Wehh's Cross- 
roads. It was a diihcult task, hut they performed 
it. Fishing Creek, a large and rapid stream, lay in 
their route. This they had to ford. On reaching it 
they found it unusually swollen hy the recent heavy 
and continuous rains. Its hanks were deeply cov- 
ered, and its waters spread out over them for rods 
on either side. To cross at all seemed to he impos- 
sible. Yet it had to he attempted. The hoys were 
too eager to measure their strength with the enemy, 
and too much delighted in getting away from the 
monotony and ennui of camp-life, not to make Her- 
culean efforts to effect a speedy and secure crossing. 
After prodigious toil and great exposure, a rope was 
successfully stretched across the creek from shore to 
shore, and made fast to the trees. By holding to this 
rope, the water reaching to their arm pits, the men 
succeeded in slowly hut safely fording the stream. 
Happy in the prospect of a light, though wet and 
chilled to the bone, they moved on in enthusiastic 
style, and reached their destination awhile before 
the dawn of the Sabbath morning. 

Informed of the trap that the Federal generals 
were preparing for him. General Zollicoffer determ- 
ined to anticipate such an operation by attacking 



Webb's cross-roads. 395 

our forces in detail, and defeat tliem before a junc- 
tion of the various detachments could be formed. lie 
was utterly ignorant of the junction that they had 
already formed by heavy forced aiarches. For this 
purpose he marched out of his intrenchments at the 
head of his entire army on Saturday, and confronted 
General Thomas early on Sunday morning, Janu- 
ary 19. 

Il^ow, while the two armies are engaged in taking 
their positions and getting into Jine of battle, we will 
attempt to entertain yOu with a brief but accurate por- 
trait of the principal officers engaged in that contest. 

General George H. Thomas is a native of South- 
ampton County, Virginia. So loyal, so brave, and 
so true are the inhabitants of the Congressional 
District of which Southampton County is an im- 
portant part, that but one out of seven graduates 
from West Point, who had been appointed from 
that district, left the Federal army to join the 
secession ranks ! Besides this, the wives of three 
of our most distinguished naval officers. Admiral 
Farragut, Comm.odore Blake, and the late Com- 
modore Pendergast, are from the same district. 
These distinguished ladies are unswerving in their 
fidelity to the Federal Government. These things 
speak well for the county of the General's birth. 

In 1840 he graduated from the West Point Mili- 
tary Academy with distinguished honors. While 
in the Military Academy, he was remarkable for 
his sobriety of life, his gravity of demeanor, his 
obliging disposition, his capacious mind, and his 
rare diligence as a student. 



896 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION". 

Bearing some resemblance to General Wasliing- 
ton in features, and more in general appearance and 
deportment, lie was respectfully designated hj the 
soubriquet of '' General Washington." The last man 
to trace and claim such a resemblance himself, this 
designation by his fellow-students neither inflated 
his vanity nor excited his ire. He kindly took it 
as excellent sport. 

Thomas's face is not handsome, but it is striking 
in its strong intellectual cast. After once seeing 
him, there is no danger of mistaking the promi- 
nent traits of his character. The distinct and well- 
marked lines about his mouth, his broad and 
smooth forehead, and deep-set, steady eye, black as 
ebony, and swimming in luster, are the infallible 
indices of his intrepidity, firmness, pugnacity, and 
magnanimity. About him is nothing little ; every 
thing great. He is a martial giant, but as unassum- 
ing as a timid child. He never could consent to be- 
come his own trumpeter, such is his self-distrust and 
personal modesty. He thinks more of others than 
about himself. In consequence of his modesty and 
retiring manners, it was a long time before it was 
generally suspected that in him resided such gigantic 
powers as he has exhibited. It required extraordi- 
nary occasions to call out his extraordinary^ abilities 
as a military chieftain. ITothing less than the battle 
throes, the fearful carnage, and terrible agony of 
Chickamauga could fully develop the volcanic fires 
that slept within him. He was all himself in that 
terrific whirlwind of passion. He has no superiors, 
and but few equals. We do not find in him the 



Webb's cross-boads. 897 

pomp and splendor of Pope's assault upon the foe, 
nor the majesty of Sherman's invincible columns, as 
he hurls them upon the enemy ; but there is found 
in him the firm tread, iron will, and resistless onset 
of an unconquerable general. He does not move 
before us so much the genius of the storm itself, as 
one who has resolved to grapple with the whirling 
elements to the last, though helpless and at their 
mercy. * He rose with the dangers that surrounded 
him at Chickamauga, and met them with the firm- 
ness of one who had determined not to be overcome. 
His magnificent fighting on that awful day, and the 
crushing blows that he dealt the rebel hordes, ex- 
torted exclamations of admiration from both friends 
and foes, and his heroic audacity caused the world 
to stand aghast. 

After General T. J. Wood had lost the day by 
his faulty if not criminal conduct. General Thomas 
saved the army from defeat and annihilation, while 
his pertinacity permitted the fragments of our shat- 
tered right and center to enter retreats of safety, 
where they rallied and re-formed. 

No one ever dreamed that within the quiet, un- 
demonstrative commander of the battle of Webb's 
Cross-roads there resided such mighty power, irre- 
sistible energy, and great moral force. But so it 
was. So little was said of him in connection with 
that battle, but so much about his colonels, by the 
army correspondents, that one would have supposed 
that he was but a cipher, dependent upon his sub- 
ordinate ofiicers for his military movements and 
xaartial success. He was hardly named in connee- 



S98 THE HEROES OF THE "WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tioii with that signal triumph of our arms. Indeed, 
it was unblushingly stated that he was not upon the 
fiekl, that he issued no orders, and that the troops 
acted without general orders. Yet Colonel Kise, 
commander of the Tenth Indiana, declares that he 
received all his orders from General Thomas.* This 
was manifest injustice. It was principally for Col- 
onel McCook that the correspondents threw up 
their hats and huzzaed. The people, dependent 
upon them for their army news, became their echoes. 
It is likely that the principal cause of this was, 
General Thomas neither said any thing about him- 
self, nor paid any one to say it for him. He looked 
alone to the official record of his deeds to prove 
his ability, fidelity, and patriotism. 

Immediately after graduating he was commis- 
sioned an offi-cer in the Third United States Artil- 
lery. The land of flowers was the theater of his 
first achievements — where he fleshed his maiden 
sword. As early as 1841 he was brevetted First Lieu- 
tenant for his brave deeds and manly conduct in 
the war against the Florida Indians. One of the 
many brave young men Avho accompanied General 
Taylor into Mexico, he fought valiantly in the as- 
sault upon Monterey, and was the foremost of those 
who scaled the walls of the fort. Indeed, he was 
present and prominent in all the engagements that 
eventuated in the capture of the place. For his gal- 
lant conduct and chivalrous bearing on that occasion, 
in that hard-fought battle, he was brevetted Captain. 

* See ofi&cial report of Tenth Indiana by Colonel Kise. 



Webb's ceoss-roads. 899 

In the wild, fierce, and bloody scenes of Buena 
Vista, for three successive days, he was a prominent 
and successful actor. Here were obtained glimpses 
of the workings of his extraordinary powers. While 
rendering himself the center of all eyes by his skill 
and daring, he was utterly unconscious of attracting 
attention at all, so natural was it for him to be both 
great and grand in action. He was impelled but by 
one thought, influenced by one purpose, and was 
engaged in only one work — the defeat of the Mexi- 
cans. He was fully persuaded that to escape anni- 
hilation every American soldier, whether officer or 
private, was under the necessity of fighting as men 
never fought before. He did as he felt the necessi- 
ties of the case demanded, and as he would have 
those do who were under him. On that historic 
field blood flowed as freely as water, and that of 
young Thomas was mingled with the general cur- 
rent. The courage, the hardihood, and the invinci- 
bility of American soldiers were forever fixed by 
the battle of Buena Vista, and Lieutenant Thomas 
aided in fixing that reputation. Upon the field all 
crimsoned with human gore, covered with the dead 
and dying of both armies, and torn up by the hoof 
of the war-horse. Captain Thomas was promoted to 
the brevet rank of Major. Thus he rose in a few 
days, and alone by naeritorious conduct. 

At the close of the Mexican war he was appointed 
chief of cavalry and artillery instruction at the 'Na- 
tional Military Academy. This responsible position 
he filled a little over three years. In 1855 he was 
promoted to a majorship in the Third Cavalry. 



400 THE HEUOES OF TEE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

This was a new, and designed to be a splendid regi- 
ment. It was raised and organized wliile Jeff*. 
Davis was Secretary of War. It was pre-eminently 
a Southern regiment — the great pet of the Southern 
Secretary — and was to be the great nucleus around 
which the Southern knights were to gather in days 
to come. The truth of these statements will become 
palpably apparent when it is known that Albert S. 
Johnston was its Colonel, Robert E. Lee its Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel, W. J. Hardee its First Major, Earl 
Van Dorn its first and Edmund Kirby Smith its 
second Captain. Where these officers were found 
in the rebellion the reading public need not be in- 
formed. One has fallen as a Major-General of the 
Southern Confederacy. All of the officers named, 
except Thomas, are prominent generals in the rebel 
army. Hobert E. Lee commands the Department 
of Virginia. Hardee was a corps commander in 
Bragg's army in Tennessee ; and so also are the 
others in the army of treason. 

"When the slaveholders' rebellion broke out in 
lurid flames. Major Thomas was absent on furlough. 
He soon returned to head-quarters, and reported 
himself to the Federal Government for duty. He 
was appointed a Brigadier-General of volunteers, 
and assigned to the command of a division on the 
Upper Potomac, under Patterson. In this depart- 
ment he remained until the rebels first invaded 
Kentucky. Then, with Generals Sherman and 
Schoepf, he was sent to that state to take charge of 
the Federal. troops and repel the invaders. 

Immediately he rejDorted himself at, and took 



Webb's cross-hoads. 401 

charge of Camp Dick Eobiuson, near Lexington, 
Kentucky. He superseded General Kelson, for- 
merly a lieutenant in the navy. General Thomas's 
appointment to this command was most opportune 
and befitting. 

His career has blended in it all the elements of 
true greatness — of the successful soldier. He has 
gone on quietly and bravely in the prosecution of 
the work of subduiug the rebellion. His progress 
has been almost as noiseless as the travel of a star, 
and as grand as that of any other general. He is 
one of the very few generals who have escaped the 
severe, unjust, and savage criticism of the press. 
For two years no one attempted to either write him 
up or down. He was unambitious. He did not 
appear to be in the way of unscrupulous army as- 
pirants. He did not arouse their jealousy. They 
lacked the capacity to discern his latent powers 
and his rare moral excellency. He did not appear 
to this class of officers worthy of special notice. 
ISTone dreaded his rivalry or his ability to outstrip 
them in the race for military distinction. As he 
was rather a pleasant companion, somewhat re- 
served in manners, and an excellent listener, they 
rather liked him than otherwise. He had accom- 
plished little or nothing to attract attention to him. 
The credit of the victory over ZoUicotfer was trans- 
ferred from him to his colonels. They felt that 
they need not be concerned about him. He would 
retain his obscurity. For two years hardly any body 
knew that there was such a general of division as 
Thomas. 

34 



402 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE TJKEON. 

Indeed, it would seem that lie was purposely kept 
in the background by his distrustful chiefs. At 
least he was never placed in a position to accom- 
plish much in any battle until that of Chickamauga. 
When Buell's army marched to the assistance of 
Grant, Thomas was left in the* rear to protect rail- 
roads and guard military stores. At the strange 
and unfortuuate battle of Perry ville he was not per- 
mitted to strike a solitary blow for his flag. There 
appeared to be a want of confidence in his ability to 
command, or the entertainment of a fear that he would 
win too many laurels. When our troops were fight- 
ing at Stone River, he and his corps were quite 
idle. They were out of the range of the storm of 
battle. Had he been upon our left, as he was upon 
the right wing, the misfortunes that befell McCook 
would have been wholly avoided, and the rebels 
signally repulsed. 

But at Chickamauga he made up for all past in- 
activity. He was the Hercules of the Army of the 
Cumberland. For two long and fearful days he 
stood up in the tempest of lead like a rock in mid 
ocean, breaking into foam the secession waves that 
swept against him. Grim with powder and dust, 
he seemed an avenging angel, hurling his bolts of 
destruction among his foes. ]N"ever has an Ameri- 
can general appeared so grand, so terrific, so super- 
human, as did General Thomas, with his battle- 
scarred, mangled, bleeding braves about him, in that 
fearful struggle. Grant was magnificent at Yicks- 
burg, Banks was grand at Port Hudson, and Meade 
was heroic at Gettysburg; but Thomas was more 



Webb's cross-roads. 403 

magnificent, grander, and more heroic at Chicka- 
manga than either and all of them. He had infused 
into his men his own calm but fearless and indom- 
itable spirit. He held in his hands the destiny of 
North America. This fact he fully appreciated. 
H-e resolved to fall, with all his command, upon the 
slope upon which he stood, rather than yield to the 
superior numbers of the rebels. His unconquerable 
will — his unrivaled heroism — saved the army and 
our national existence. In this single battle he 
overtook and distanced all his competitors. He 
wove himself a garland of which the greatest gen- 
erals of the nation might well be proud. While 
the other corps commanders were flying from the 
field, alarmed and unmanned, seeking orders fifteen 
miles |rom the scene of strife, he maintained his 
ground and held the insurgent hordes at bay until 
these fugitive chieftains gained a secure retreat ! 
Thus he deported himself on that great day. He 
is a glorious old warrior. As a reward for his 
splendid and successful fighting, he was ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief of the army he had 
saved ! 

1^0 man is capable of greater deeds. In his se- 
date, quiet way he has done great things from the 
beginning. To be a Union man cost him every 
thing but. his honor. In adhering to the old flag — 
the flag under whose folds he marched to glory 
and victory in Florida, at Monterey, and Buena 
Vista — he had to renounce his Southern friends and 
sacrifice all his property in Virginia. Upon the 
altar of the national Union he laid every thing — 



404 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIO:^'. 

life itself. To be loyal cost Mm miicli, very much. 
His was a bona fide sacrifice. 

Yet this is the man whom the rebels brand with 
the foulest epithets, and accuse of the foulest crimes. 
Chagrined at his fidelity to his flag, the conspira- 
tors at Eichmond have exerted themselves to the 
utmost to blast his character and destroy his influ- 
ence. But in this, as in most of their atrocious 
projects, they have miserably failed. In the estima- 
tion of all true men — of men whose approbation is 
worth having at all — he could not have a better 
recommendation to our confidence than the slander- 
ous assaults of the rebels. Their pretense that he 
applied to Jeff". Davis for a very humble ofiice .in 
Richmond is as false as the Southern conspirators 
are corrupt and cruel. ]K"o man would ha\^ been 
more cordially welcomed among them than General 
Thomas. They knew his great worth, were con- 
scious of the great powers he possessed. Had he 
been a cringing poltroon, as the rebels now assert, 
would Davis, when Secretary of War, have placed 
him as a major in his favorite Southern regiment, 
all the ofiicers of which were Southern men with 
strong Southern proclivities ? By no means. Small 
men could not fight the great battles of the South. 
Ofiicers in that regiment were designed to retain the 
ofiices in the interests of the revolted South. This 
these ofiicers did, with but one honorable exception. 
It is evident, then, that the South does but slander 
General Thomas. He is, in every important partic- 
ular, all of which a people may be justly proud, and 
just such a man as the people delight to honor. 



WEBB'S CROSS-ROADS. 405 

General Alliu Sclioepf is an adopted pitizen of 
Maryland. By birth he is a Hungarian, and gradu- 
ate of the military school of Vienna. He had taken 
a prominent part in the Hungarian struggle for 
national independence. An efficient officer in the 
Provisional Army, he fought in numerous battles, 
and aided in achieving many victories. But, like all 
generals, he was occasionally defeated. ISTo one co- 
operated more heartily with Kossuth than General 
Schoepf. His motto was, " Hungary liberated, or 
Hungary annihilated." 

But when General Gorgei sold the Hungarian 
army to the Austrians for a " mess of pottage " — 
betrayed it to the despotic house of Hapsburg for a 
life of infamy, and involved the Magyars in hope- 
less slavery — General Schoepf became a fugitive. To 
escape from the proscriptions and persecutions in- 
flicted upon his countrymen, he sought and found 
an asylum upon the American shores. By the 
American people he was most cordially welcomed. 
They extended to him the generous hospitality be- 
lono^ino^ to a distino'uished exile. He soon felt at 
home in " the land of the free and the home of the 
brave," though he sighed for similar freedom in his 
native country. 

At the commencement of Southern hostilities — 
hostilities for the extension and establishment of 
African slavery — he held a position in the United 
States Coast Survey. Known to possess military 
talents of a very high order, and an extensive mili- 
tary experience, on the recommendation of Hon. 
Joseph Holt he was appointed a Brigadier-General, 



406 THE HEROES OF THE WAR EOR THE UNION. 

and assigned to dnty in Iventuck3^ At the period 
of which we are writing he commanded a division 
of the Union army at Somerset, about fifteen miles 
from Zollicoffer's fortifications. 

A brave and skillful ofiicer, he was regarded with 
great confidence by the people, and much was ex- 
pected of him. But he signally failed to meet the 
expectations that he authorized to be entertained. 
He was never popular with his men. His harsh, 
irritable nature led him to be both unjust and 
tyrannical. He labored to plant the grinding des- 
potism distinctive of an European army upon the free 
soil of America. In this attempt he failed, and 
ruined his own prospects for the future. He seemed 
to forget that he commanded an army of volunteer 
freemen, as intelligent and as capable to command 
as himself. "When in the hight of passion he would 
strike his ofiicers, or treat them in the rudest man- 
ner. Consequently, he was denounced by the ofiicers 
in the strongest terms, and the necessity of his res- 
ignation became more and more apparent every 
day. The propriety of preferring charges against 
liim became the subject of serious consideration and 
earnest debate among those who felt most aggrieved. 
But, as he resigned his position, this was not done. 

Though of unquestioned courage, and highly ca- 
pable of commanding a division, he accomplished 
little or nothing while holding such a command. 
For this he censures his chief. He was, apparently, 
studiously kept out of all engagements. Why this 
was done is not really known. Disgusted with the 
manner in which General Buell conducted his cam- 



WEBBS CROSS-ROADS. 407 

paign against Bragg, he declared that he would not 
serve any longer under him, and accordingly resigned 
his command. Subsequentl}^, he was assigned to 
command at Fort Delaware. 

Colonel Speed S. Fry is a native of Kentucky. 
He is the son of Thomas Fry, formerly of Danville. 
When the battle of Webb's Cross-roads took place 
he was about forty jesivs old. By profession he was 
a lawyer. In this vocation he was very successful. 
His clients continually multiplied upon his hands 
until his practice at the bar became quite lucrative. 
He was distinguished for urbanity, inflexible justice, 
devotion to truth, and detestation of the trickery 
often distinctive of the profession. I^o consideration, 
however great, no plea, however eloquent, could in- 
duce him -to swerve from what he conceived to be 
both law and justice. [N^either would he engage in 
a case in the prosecution of which he could not con- 
scientiously employ his powers, with right on his 
side. In no way would he pander to vice and injus- 
tice, or extortion. He was an ornament to the legal 
profession, and a blessing to society. His broad 
reputation for sterling integrity, and his love of 
Christian truth, did more to secure him patronage 
than his legal abilities, which were of the first order. 
Those who employed him felt that justice would be 
done them, and that, if they lost their cause, it was 
because law and justice were against them. 

Pie was in the hight of prosperity when the Mex- 
ican war was inaugurated. Though destitute of a 
military education, he did not hesitate to take charge 
of a company of volunteers in Colonel McKee's regi- 



408 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOE THE UNION. 

ment. As a captain lie greatly clistinguislied him- 
self at the battle of Biiena Yista. His regiment 
came off from that bloody iield covered with glory. 
It fought with a heroism that could be equaled only 
by American soldiers, and suffered in killed and 
wounded to an a^jpalling extent. The gallant and 
intrepid McKee fell mortally wounded at its head. 
The Lieutenant-Colonel was also killed. Major Gary 
Fry, cousin of Speed Smith Fry, was in command 
at the close of the battle. 

During the engagement, Captain Fry performed 
one of the coolest and most deliberate deeds of that 
battle-field. A Mexican, separated from his com- 
rades, was observed to load and fire with great de- 
liberation, three or four times, upon his company. 
Captain Fry was not the man to stand helplessly by 
while his men were murdered in such a manner. 
Takino; a musket from a fallen soldier, he raised it 
to his shoulder, looked along its barrel for a moment, 
and fired. When the smoke cleared away, the ad- 
venturous Mexican could not be seen, and was not 
heard from afterward. The Captain's aim was sure 
and deadly. In his native woods he acquired the 
art of handling his gun with facility, and of firiug 
with a fatal certainty. 

Eeturning from Mexico at the close of the war, 
he resumed his old profession, and once more en- 
tered upon the peaceful pursuits of life. As a law- 
yer, he was again eminently successful. At the 
opening of the slaveholders' rebellion he was Judge 
of Boyle County Court. At once he entered the 
arena of strife, becoming a bold and fearless cham- 



Webb's cboss-eoads. 409 

pion of the Federal Government, and a determined 
opponent of secessionism. While many were fear- 
ful of committing themselves to the right, or of 
opening their mouths upon the subject, meanly de- 
serting their own cause, he boldly attacked the 
rebels on the stump and elsewhere. He performed 
a noble and invaluable work. He was the first in 
that portion of the state to move in the right direc- 
tion. At the outset he stood almost alone, but he 
soon had thousands to go with him. At the earliest 
period he began to raise Union troops. He recruited 
the Third and Fourth Kentucky Eegiments. These 
were the first Union regiments organized in the 
state. Of the Fourth he became Colonel. 

At the battle of Webb's Cross-roads he acted a 
most conspicuous part, and displayed the greatest 
valor. His regiment was the first to support the 
sorely-pressed Tenth Indiana, and the last to desist 
from the pursuit. It contested the. prize of victory 
with the rebels with the stubborn valor of veterans. 
The Colonel handled his men with the greatest skill, 
and fought them with the greatest gallantry. 

In the early part of the battle he and General 
Zollicofler met upon the field face to face, as the 
latter was leading a flank movement upon our left. 
They were within a few rods of each other. Emerg- 
ing from the thick undergrowth and smoke of bat- 
tle, he accosted Colonel Fry as a friend. Zollicofler 
ordered the latter not to flre upon the approaching 
columns, as they " were friends and Mississippians." 
Just then he discovered his mistake. His Aid im- 
mediately fired upon Colonel Fry, only hitting and 
35 



410 THE HEROES OF THE "WAR FOR THE UNION. 

felling his horse. In the twinkling of an eye he 
released himself from his dying steed, leveled his 
pistol with a steady hand, and sent a ball to the 
rebel General's heart ! He reeled in his saddle, and 
fell heavily to the ground ! Zollicoffer was dead ! 
Colonel Fry had felled him to the earth ! The head 
of the rebel army was gone; the body would soon 
follow. 

In a few moments Colonel Fry was remounted 
upon General Zollicoffer's splendid gray charger. 
Seated upon his new war-horse, he pressed the rebels 
with greater vigor than ever. He knew the day 
was ours — the victory sure. Like an inspiring cen- 
taur he galloped along his lines, and cheered his 
thinning ranks on to triumph. JSTone did more nobly. 

Colonel Robert L. McCook was a prominent actor 
in the tragedy of Webb's Cross-roads. He was the 
Colonel of the Ninth Ohio Regiment. He was a 
member of the great McCook family, remarkable 
alike for its martial spirit and military talents. He 
is one of five brothers who have rendered themselves 
conspicuous for their loyalty and gallantry. They 
are the illustrious Gracchi of our Republic. Of no 
other family bearing the same name, and lineal de- 
scendants of the same parent stock, have so many 
entered the United States volunteer and regular 
armies, and occupied such deservedly distinguished 
positions, as have the McCooks. The senior head 
of the McCook battalion is Dr. George McCook, of 
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. At the beginning of the 
slaveholders' war for the preservation and indefinite 
extension of slavery, there were sixteen of them, 



Webb's cross-roads. 411 

occupying commands from Lieutenant up to Major- 
General. As a family, they contributed tlieir full 
share in crushing the rebels, and gathered their due 
proportion of the glory of the work. 

Judge McCook, the venerable father of Eobert, 
was as loyal, brave, and active as any of his great 
sons. From the first he took the profoundest in- 
terest in the success of our arms, and labored as- 
siduously for the triumph of the principles enter- 
ing into our side of the contest. For some time 
he held the post of Paymaster, with the rank of 
Major, He had been upon most of the great 
battle-fields of the war previous to his death. Pres- 
ent at the sanguinary and disastrous battle of 
Bull Run, he witnessed the fall of the first of 
his martial sons. Charles McCook, the youngest 
of the five brothers, was there as Captain of a 
volunteer company. Detailed as a hospital guard, 
when near one of our hospitals on that unfortu- 
nate field, he was suddenly surrounded by a bat- 
talion of rebel cavalry. They ordered him to sur- 
render at once, and raised their carbines to their 
shoulders to emphasize the command. " I shall 
never surrender to the insurgent enemies of my 
country," he boldly replied. Yet he was powerless. 
He was at their mercy. He was nearly alone. His 
death was inevitable, unless he instantly surrendered. 
His father, fearless as the bravest knight that ever 
wielded a sword or wore a helmet, urged his in- 
flexible son to surrender, and save a life dear to his 
friends, and that might be valuable to the govern- 
ment. " I can not, father I " was the firm response 



412 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOK THE UNION. 

uttered by lips tremulous with emotion. His fath- 
er's appeal touched his heart, but could not shake 
his resolution. In an instant a volley was fired 
upon him, and he fell dead, pierced by a dozen bul- 
lets. The father saw it all. He heard the terrible 
crash of musketry that robbed him of his " Joseph," 
but he bravely breasted the storm of anguish about 
to set in upon him, and he sternly continued to be 
a man ! Proud of being the parent of such a boy, 
with tearful eyes and quivering lips, the old man 
took the lifeless body in his arms, and carried it to 
a suitable place of interment. To be alone amid 
those sad and terrible scenes he felt to be a painful 
necessity. Yet his heart failed him not. He was 
transformed into a thrice more determined enemy 
of the rebels. This event kindled the luartial fires 
of the father into so intense a flame that nothing 
but death could extinguish them. Until he fell 
himself at the hands of the Southern marauders, he 
was ever afterward upon the war-path. 

In the early autumn of 1862, his son, Robert L. 
McCook, Brigadier-General in the Army of the 
Cumberland, was brutally murdered by Southern 
banditti, near Salem, Alabama. Upon the veteran 
father this was a crushing blow. It smote the old 
man's heart with the vigor of a thunderbolt. I^o th- 
ing had occurred during the two years of war that 
had depressed or exasperated him to so great an 
extent. He determined to avenge the wrong and 
retaliate upon the villainous horde for the foul mur- 
der of his son. To compass those objects he 
patiently awaited a befitting opportunity. Eor the 



Webb's cross-eoads. 413 

completion of this one great work he lived, labored, 
endured, suffered, and planned. His time for action 
at length seemed to draw near. When General 
Morgan, the chief of guerrillas, and his band of 
cut-throats entered Ohio, the old man felt that his 
day of retaliation had indeed arrived. He earnestly 
desired to aid in crushing out an armed tyranny, 
such as that which prevailed through the presence 
and power of Morgan, and under which such a 
mode of warfare prospers as left him to lament 
the early death of a brave, skillful, and loyal son. 
Accordingly he shouldered his trusty rifle, and, on 
horseback, engaged with all his ardor in the pursuit 
of the flying rebels. As a volunteer, he attached 
himself to the command of General Judah. Our 
troops had driven the guerrilla chief and his hordes 
of guerrillas to the Ohio River, near Pomeroy. 
Pressed hard upon their flank by General Judah 
from Portsmouth, the rebels hastily moved up the 
river, purposing to effect a crossing at Bufiington 
Island. But by this time they were hemmed in on 
every hand, while the Federal flotilla guarded the 
ferries of the river. Consequently, after an excit- 
ing chase of thirty days, our troops were about to 
capture the enemy en masse. 

Early on Sabbath morning, the 19th of July, 
1863, General Judah, in a dense fog, was ap- 
proaching the neighborhood of Bufiington Island, 
in advance of his corps, accompanied by his staff, 
and about one hundred volunteer escorts. One 
of these gallant men was Major McCook. As the 
fog was still dense, and lay low upon the ground, 



414 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Major McCook and companions found themselves 
confronted by a brigade of rebels in line of battle, 
when they were neither prepared for nor were ap- 
prehending such an encounter. Just then the fog 
was lifted by the increasing breeze, and a long 
line of rebel bayonets shone out in the sun. 
Our troops were within a few rods of them. The 
rebels were in force; ours were simply an escort, 
and they wheeled to fly back to the main army 
that was slowly winding its serpentine length 
along the changeful banks of the Ohio River. On 
detecting this movement, and divining its cause, 
the rebels poured into them a heavy and destructive 
fire. With others, Major McCook fell, a victim to 
the imprudence of the commanding General. The 
old soldier fell, mortally wounded, from his horse, 
and lived just long enough afterward to be con- 
scious of the fact that the thieving rebels were 
outraging his person, and robbing him of his 
eflects ! To the last these unscrupulous enemies 
of all that is honorable and elevating, and the 
pitiless foes of the helpless, were his tormentors. 
They thus embittjered his dying hours, and deep- 
ened the dark stains upon their character by strip- 
ping the old patriot when dying ! 

On the picturesque banks of the Ohio this 
American ISTestor fell, bravely battling for his 
country's liberties. There he sleeps his last sleep. 
He had nobly finished his work. His great mis- 
sion was bravely wound up. 

Such was the father of the McCooks — of the 
Jive brothers — and Eobert L. was worthy of such 



WEBB'S CROSS-ROADS. 415 

a father. Hobert L. McCook was a native of Jef- 
ferson County, Ohio, and was born in 1828. He 
is one of the great number of Ohioans who have 
distinguished themselves by ardent patriotism and 
magnificent deeds during the war for the Union. 
His appearance was peculiar and impressive. The 
impression that his presence made upon the be- 
holder was favorable, deep, and lasting. He was not 
what might be termed a handsome man; yet his 
features were both agreeable and attractive. His 
head was large and well proportioned. In him no 
one faculty or propensity predominated ; but his 
abilities, though fine, strong, and masterly, were 
excellently poised. They were co-workers together, 
and were mutual aids. His forehead was broad, his^h, 
and projecting, the base of which was adorned by 
two heavy, black, and well-formed brows. His 
eyes were large, dark, and constantly sparkled with 
the luster in which they were always bathed. His 
eyelids drooped, indicating the serenity of the great 
mind and repose of the great soul looking out 
from under them, ever conscious of their rectitude, 
power, and energy. His nose was large, rather 
fleshy, but well-formed, with thin, waving nostrils. 
His mouth was large, and his li23S tolerable heavy — 
an index to his oratorical powers. He could stir 
the soul with burning words, as well as lay the 
enemy prostrate with his skillful sword. His chin, 
an index to human character, was slightly project- 
ing, broad, and thick. The manner in which he 
closed his lips, the energetic chin, and the wide 
under-j aw, forcibly pointed out the inflexibility of 



416 THE HEROES OF THE WAP. FOR THE UNION. 

his. will. That this was no false inference that he 
had a will as strong and as unbending as iron, 
and as fervent as fire, his whole career fnllj at- 
tested. His physique admirably accorded in bulki- 
ness, hight, vigor, and symmetry with his great 
mental qualities, lie was sui generis. He was 
marked in person, in features, and in all his ordi- 
nary movements. 

Ilis great moral endowments .were as promi- 
nently discoverable in his conduct and senti- 
ments as any other of his great qualities. He 
ardently revered truth, profoundly respected sacred 
things, was scrupulously conscientious, and as faith- 
ful to his engagements and in meeting the re- 
sponsibilities of his various relations as any man 
now living. He was morally as well as intellectu- 
ally great. Within the morality distinctive of him 
resided much of his power over his men in the 
camp or upon the battle-field. 

From early boyhood he attracted the attention, 
commanded the respect, and secured the confidence 
of his seniors. Though but a boy in years and 
stature, he was a man in deportment, in the ma- 
turity of his judgment, the sobriety of his habits, 
and in the general rectitude of his conduct. That 
which interested and amused boys of his own age 
possessed no charms for him. Ko amusements, 
however attractive, could allure him from his staid 
and manly deportment. Consequently, he soon dis- 
tanced those of his own age enjoying equal, if not 
superior, privileges. His industry, integrity, and 
manliness soon raised him to a position envied by 



Webb's cross-roads. 417 

his idle companions, but which seemed far, very far 
beyond their reach. 

By the time he had attained his twenty-first year 
he had creditably graduated in law, and opened an 
office in Columbus, the Capital of Ohio. From the 
first he succeeded far beyond his most sanguine ex- 
pectations. His practice at the Columbus bar, 
distinguished for its talent, legal learning, and elo- 
quence, soon became quite lucrative. He was not 
long in proving himself both a superior lawyer and 
an eloquent pleader. 

Desirous of entering a wider field, afibrding a 
greater variety of cases, he removed to Cincinnati. 
Here he resided when the tocsin of civil war clanged 
out through the startled land. While in this great 
city — the proud Queen of the West — he had estab- 
lished a superb reputation for diligence, sterling 
integrity, and giant abilities. He was regarded one 
of the most promising, if not the most promising, 
lawyers at the Cincinnati bar. 

He had been a life-long Democrat — a Buchanan 
Democrat — ^but not a blind, unscrupulous, and parti- 
san Democrat. He was a patriot. He was one of 
the first men of the West to execrate the imbe- 
cility and denounce the treason that marked and 
dishonored the close of the Buchanan Administra- 
tion. He gave party attachments to the winds, 
when the coherence and conduct of party en- 
dangered the interests and existence of his country. 
He was too pure a man and too ardent a patriot 
to even think of sacrificing every thing to the suc- 
cess of his party. Than this, of his pure and lofty 



418 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

devotion to tlie existence and well-being of his 
native land, nothing affords us more conclusive 
evidence. His earnest assault upon and arraign- 
ment of the idiotic and traitorous Buchanan was 
prompt, fierce, and unrelenting. As he was an 
intelligent, earnest, and pure-minded citizen, he 
was the uncompromising enemy — the deadly foe — - 
of all who would strike at the life of his country. 
He detested meanness wherever found, and abhorred 
treason whenever seen, and at once assumed an 
antagonistic attitude of a most determined char- 
acter. 

But his patriotism and zeal for the Union did 
not expend themselves in vaporings, as was too 
often the case with others. His words of denunci- 
ation were immediately followed by appropriate 
and corresponding action. He became the active 
enemy of treason, and the champion of loyalty. 
And for this earnest, energetic action no man was 
so cordially hated by the enemies of the Union — 
by the Copperheads both North and South — as 
Robert McCook. From the first onset of the re- 
bellion he inspired the traitors every-where with 
a wholesome dread of his strong right arm. 

Upon the issuing of the first call for volunteers, 
young McCook laid aside his law-books, sprang 
to the relief of the government, and girded him- 
self for the fierce conflict about to ensue. From 
the earliest outbreak of the rebellion he had a 
distinct idea — a prophetic persuasion — of its vast 
magnitude. Hence he gave himself to the work 
of crushing out the rebels. At once and imme- 



Webb's cross-roads. 419 

diately lie raised a regiment of G-ermans. He 
saw that in them was the very best material for 
soldiers. He recruited, organized, and drilled the 
famous Kinth Ohio. 

Early in April he and his regiment were ready 
for the field. As many of his men had seen serv- 
ice in Europe, and others had been extensively 
drilled in volunteer companies, they did not need 
so much time for preparatory discipline as many 
other regiments. Yet they were detained in camp 
nealrly three months. But these months of tedious 
camp-life were not thrown away. Colonel Mc- 
Cook sedulously employed them in drilling his 
men into a perfection of movement, a precision 
of action, truly wonderful. General McClellau 
pronounced it the best regiment he had ever seen, 
either in Europe or in America. This was high 
praise. The regiment retained this high character 
for efficiency and perfection of discipline after 
having entered upon active duties. Ever after- 
ward it was complimented for its martial excel- 
lencies. 

The first field in which Colonel McCook com- 
manded was that of West Virginia. General Mc- 
Clellan attached him and his noble regiment to him 
as his van-guard. After entering the sacred soil 
of the Old Dominion, he soon reached Philippi, 
where the army was concentrated. Eor the first 
night he encamped upon the mountain with the 
other regiments. With this exalted situation he 
was not at all satisfied, though the mountain ap- 
peared much more secure than the valley at its 



420 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMON. 

base. But as lie regarded the beautiful and fertile 
valley much more desirable as a camp than the 
mountain summit upon which ' the other troops 
were perched, he determined to descend and pitch 
his tents in it. Aorainst such a movement the 
officers remonstrated, regarding it dangerous, if 
not perilous. They pretended to fear the ^Ninth 
would be attacked in overwhelming numbers, and 
be crushed ere those of the mountain camp could 
come to its relief. '^ We came to fight," said 
Colonel McCook, after patiently listening to their 
remonstrances, " and if the rebels think they can 
drive my Dutchmen out of the hollow, let 'em try 
it." But they did not '' try it " — the JSTinth nestled 
in the lovely vale unmolested. 

In consequence of seniority. Colonel McCook 
had command of Philippi for a few days. But 
General Rosecrans's arrival relieved him from the 
responsibilities of the chief, and restored him to 
the position he loved to occupy. He and the 
IlTinth were ordered in the van in their descent 
upon Buchanan; and, as senior Colonel, at the 
head of his men, he triumphantly entered the 
place. Though but three weeks in the field, his 
reputation for daring, high courage, and great 
skill as a tactician exceeded that of any other 
officer, of a similar grade, in the Army of West- 
ern Virginia. For reliability and success in recon- 
noitering he was regarded second only to General 
Lander. By official orders he led the van of this 
army so long as General McClellan commanded it. 

On the 10th of July he was selected to make an 



Webb's cross-eoads. 421 

armed reconnoissance before Eich Mountain. This 
was a difiicult and hazardous task. But it was exe- 
cuted with so much skill and conducted with so much 
prudence that it drew forth the cordial applause of 
the whole army. Here he lost, by the enemy's bul- 
lets, his first men. Five of his " bully Dutchmen " 
fell in the reconnoissance. His was the first rea'i- 
ment to render doubly sacred the threatened cause 
of freedom by freely pouring out its warm life-blood. 
In nothing that was distinctive of good soldiers and 
honorable to freemen were he and his regiment any 
ways deficient. Prompt and energetic, they were 
always found where duty called and honor placed 
them. They were always first — if permitted — -upon 
the battle-field, and last to leave it. 

Veterans could not have deported themselves bet- 
ter than did the Ninth before Rich Mountain. Their 
steadiness and mobility were surprising. If Colonel 
McCook and his men did not take as prominent 
and perform as brilliant a part in the battle as their 
numerous friends expected, the misfortune was theirs, 
but the fault General McClellan's. This we need 
not pause to explain. The ISTinth did all it was as- 
signed or commanded to do. 

After the glorious battle of Rich Mountain, Col- 
onel McCook was stationed on ^N'ew Creek, along the 
Ealtimore and Ohio Railroad. Here he performed 
much severe labor, without gathering many laurels. 
While here, he crossed and recrossed Rich Mount- 
ain six times in the space of one month ! 

Under the command of the gallant Rosecrans he 
entered with great spirit into the Gauley River cam- 



422 THE HEROES OF THE WAE FOR THE UNION. 

paign. He was assigned to the command of the 
Second Brigade. For this responsible position, 
though without a regular military education, no 
better man could have been found within that great 
army. 

At the bloody battle of Carnifex Ferry, in Sep- 
tember, his brigade was held in reserve for several 
hours. To him and his brave men this was a most 
trying and intensely irritating situation. As good 
soldiers they could not but obey the order of their 
chieftain; yet the privilege to engage the enemy 
would have been hailed with shouts of delight. To 
stand and see their comrades falling on every hand, 
without the permission to fire a gun, or the ability 
to render them any aid, was, indeed, a terribly try- 
ing ordeal. For the command to advance they were 
every moment listening. At length that order came. 
*^ Forward I" shouted Colonel McCook, as, from the 
intense excitement into which he had been wrought, 
he stood erect in his stirrups. Upon no previous, 
or even subsequent, battle-field did a more enthusi- 
astic and moving scene transpire. His men were 
animated by the same fiery spirit that stirred his 
o^vn brave heart. AVith a few impassioned and 
arousing words, addressed to their patriotism, he kin- 
dled within his fearless men a fire that nothing but 
death could extinguish. At their head, under the 
direction of the gallant Hartsuff*, in splendid order, 
solid as a wall of granite, they m.arched into the 
battle with the intrepid bearing of conquerors. 
But, unfortunately for them, he and his ^' Dutch- 
men" were arrested in "their headlong charge upon 



Webb's cross-roads. 423 

the rebel works when just within easy range of the 
enemy's artillery and sharp-shooters. Here they 
stood for some time shivering in the deadly storm 
of iron and lead, without the opportunity of return- 
ing the fire. It was not fear or alarm, hut chagrin 
and indignation, that caused their muscles to quiver. 
Bather than have retreated, every man would have 
stood, like a bronze pillar, in that deadly fire, until 
all would have fallen, had no order to advance been 
given. Colonel McCook begged for the privilege 
of immediately leading his " boys " over " the sticks 
and dirt" behind which the rebels were posted. 
This coveted privilege was granted. With a deaf- 
ening and startling yell, the [N'inth sprang forward 
to the assault, and before them every rebel barrier 
went down, and every rebel soldier fled in conster- 
nation. The rebel works were gained, and the rebel 
army defeated. In a most conspicuous manner the 
bold, intelligent intrepidity of the Colonel and the 
stern heroism of his men were displayed on that 
great occasion. They stood higher, and shared more 
largely in the respect and confidence of their Gen- 
eral, than heretofore. The martial reputation of 
both was fully established. Swiftly, and with un- 
faltering step. Colonel McCook and the immortal 
Ninth followed the retiring rebels. They were soon 
overtaken. At Sewell Mountain and on New River 
he engaged the enemy in heavy skirmishing, losing 
many of his men. Having signally aided in driving 
Floyd fi'om Cotton Hill and the adjacent country, 
and after six months of severe toil, incessant labor, 
and extraordinary services, in which he exhibited 



424 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION". 

tlie high courage, tireless energy, consummate en- 
terprise, and the matured judgment of a veteran 
officer, he was ordered to report to the commander 
of Kentucky. 

It was upon this • new theater that he wove for 
his manly brow his greenest, freshest laurels. Here 
he is seen in all the plenitude of his noble, princely 
qualities of heart and head. Here he aided in 
achieving one of the most glorious and most im- 
portant victories of the war, because it broke the ter- 
rible spell into which the Union disasters had drawn 
the people, aiid inaugurated one of the most brilliant 
series of successes that has distinguished any of the 
campaigns of the war for the Union. 

A more gallant man than Colonel McCook was 
not to be found in the Federal army. A braver 
man never lived. He was as courteous and as tal- 
ented as brave. For his great place he was admira- 
bly qualified in all that constitutes the general and 
makes the soldier. His devotion to the Union and 
all its varied interests was the master passion of his 
soul. While the war or his life continued, he could 
know no happiness but by being in the field, strik- 
ing for the overthrow of the insolent enemy. He 
had wholly given himself to his menaced and dis- 
tracted country. For him no sacrifice was too great, 
no task too onerous. He was ever ready for action, 
and cheerfully sprang to the performance of any duty. 

Fully comprehending the nature of the slavehold- 
ers' rebellion. Colonel McCook was disposed to 
make war upon the insurgents upon the grim prin- 
ciples of war. He detested the idea of playing at 



WEBB'S CROSS-EOADS. 425 

soldiering. War was essentially a stern business, 
and he determined to make a stern business out of 
it. As the pretentious South laid upon us the 
necessity of conquering them or of tamely becoming 
their slaves, Colonel McCook resolved to handle 
them without gloves. He deemed it the most hu- 
mane and Christianiike to lay aside all tenderness 
until the conflict was ended, and finish up the cruel 
work in the shortest period possible. He had no 
scruples about eftectually crushing the rebels — 
crushing them so wholly that none of the fell spirit 
that engendered this rebellion would remain on 
earth. He was not traitor enough nor partisan 
enough to deal gently with Ms " erring brethren." 
He was eminently right. If the Federal Govern- 
ment was justifiable in going to war with the traitor- 
ous, greedy, unscrupulous, and tyrannical South, it 
was justified in making stern war upon them with 
all the crushing and extirpating power it could 
command. Such were the convictions of the brave, 
courteous, and humane McCook. From his heart 
he could be as kind as any man; but kindness in 
this war — an efi:brt to soften the harsh aspects of 
war by prosecuting it in a feeble and languid man- 
ner — would be great cruelty. Upon this principle 
he acted while he lived, until his death. 

A few days before the battle at Webb's Cross- 
roads he declared that, if the exigencies of the oc- 
casion required it, his regiment would throw away 
its cartridges, and depend alone upon the bayonet. 
In the employment of cold steel as a remedy for 
treason he had the sublimest confidence. Like 
36 



426 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOK. 

General Zachary Taylor, lie declared, " The bay- 
onet is the thing, my hearty bucks." On the battle- 
field of the 19th he made his words good, and 
carried out his declaration to the very letter. His 
bayonets defeated the rebels and secured to us the 
victory. 

He was one of the few officers wounded at the bat- 
tle of Webb's Cross-roads. A rebel ball struck him 
in the leg, and inflicted a deep, painful, and ugly 
wound. At the close of the battle he called upon 
the surgeon to dress it. While the surgeon was 
thus engaged, an order to pursue the rebels reached 
the Colonel. At once he ordered his horse, had the 
surgeon hastily bandage the wound, and, assisted 
into his saddle, he started in pursuit of the flying 
foe ! Such was his fortitude, and such his zeal in 
the national cause, that the wound, severe and un- 
dressed as it was, could not hold him back from the 
pursuit. ^N^either did he, as many would have done, 
take advantage of his wound to enjoy a long fur- 
lough at home. He could hardly be kept at home 
long enough to gather sufficient strength to ride his 
horse. So soon as he could do this, and long before 
his wound was healed, and when yet quite weak, 
he bade an adieu — his last — to his loved ones, and 
hurried back to join his comrades in the field. This 
example of devotion is nearly alone characteristic 
of himself. While he held a commission and drew 
full pay from the government, he scorned the base- 
ness of the act of being any-where but in the field. 

But this brave, popular, and accomplished officer 
fell in his prime. When assassinated, he was but 



WEBB'S CROSS-ROADS. 427 

thirty-five years old. On the 6th of August, 1862, 
near Salem, Alabama, General McCook fell into the 
hands of pitiless, remorseless, and malignant South- 
ern banditti, and was most brutally murdered! 
Of this melancholy event the following are the 
most distinctive circumstances. 

Commissioned a Brigadier-General for his gal- 
lant conduct in the battle of Webb's Cross-roads, 
he was conducting his brigade, one regiment of 
which was the superb Ninth Ohio, to a new and 
distant post. The General was riding between the 
several regiments composing his command. The 
Eighteenth Kegulars, and a portion of the First 
Ohio Cavaliy had passed over the road before. 
The rebel assassins, lying in ambush near the 
road most of the morning, remained undiscovered 
by the troops that led the brigade. Fully posted 
by the disloyal citizens respecting the movements 
of the brigade, they patiently awaited the Gen- 
eral's approach. Composed of residents of the im- 
mediate neighborhood and some of Forrest's rebel 
cavalry, they numbered about one hundred andhlty. 
On the day of his death, the General was ac- 
companied by his usual escort of twelve of the 
First Ohio Cavalry. Three of these, just before 
the guerrilla attack, were sent out with orders to 
different portions of the columns. Three others 
were off the road, looking for a camping-ground 
Eut six of the escort remained. The first rebel 
Bhot started five of these on a flight for safety In 
vain did the remaining escort attempt to rally these 
flying cowards. Like craven-souled thingg, they 



428 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

betrayed the General that had trusted them. In 
consequence of sickness, the General was riding in 
a spring wagon. Captain Hunter Brooke was rid- 
ing with him. " The bushwhackers are upon us," 
exclaimed the General, after hearing the first shot. 
In an instant he was struck with a ball that in- 
flicted a mortal wound. Twenty-four hours after- 
ward, General McCook ceased to live ! 

General Felix R. Zollicofter was the Com- 
mander-in-chief of the insurgent forces that at- 
tacked the Federals under the command of Gen- 
eral Thomas. He was a native of Mo wry County, 
Tennessee. He was born in 1821. From his earli- 
est existence 4le was familiar with the deprivations 
of poverty, and experienced the depressing eflects 
of an obscure parentage in the South. For a num- 
ber of years he ate the bread of bitterness. He 
determined to escape from the trammels of indi- 
gence, and throw off the incubus of his humble 
origin. Having to labor for his bread where la- 
bor was disreputable and a mark of servility, he re- 
solved to enter upon that kind of toil that would 
be most remunerative and the least disreputable. 
Instead of attempting to break down the aris- 
tocratic notions of the South, and that imposed 
upon the toiling masses such crushing disabilities, 
he started otit with the intention of reaching a 
position in aristocratic circles. To compass his 
purposes he selected and engaged in the printing 
business. 

Having completed his apprenticeship, he estab- 
lished his first paper in Paris, Tennessee. With con- 



Webb's cross-eoads. 429 

Biderable natural talent, shrewdness, and tact, and 
distinguislied for a rude eloquence that captivated 
the masses, he succeeded far beyond his most san- 
guine expectations. His hopes and self-importance 
rose more rapidly than his wealth. But in the 
process of time, as the reward of his industry, he 
became the proprietor of the Columbian Observer, 
Soon after, elected the state printer, he held the 
position till 1842. Enlarging his pretensions and 
business, he then moved to JS^ashville. Here he es- 
tablished, and edited for a number of years, the 
Banner, an old-line Whig organ. He was a bit- 
ter partisan, and an eloquent, piquant, racy, pun- 
gent writer. He assailed with the greatest acri- 
mony every thing that did not pass under the name 
of Whig. In the support of his party, his zeal was 
more fiery than intelligent or well directed. He 
labored to accomplish by denunciation and dogma- 
tism that which should have been effected by con- 
vincing logic and honest reasoning. Consequently, 
his success was not equal to his sustained eiibrts. 

He was ever an eager aspirant to office. He in- 
tensely desired an affiliation with the ruling caste. 
To aid him in the attainment of his darling ob- 
ject, he laid a contribution upon every thing that 
came in his way. He constantly made his position 
subsidiary to his elevation to a seat in the Federal 
Congress. At length, in 1853, he succeeded in 
reaching his goal, and continued in Cougress for 
three consecutive terms. 

Having succeeded in his first venture in the 
game of partisan politics, his ambition became nn- 



430 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

bounded. 'Not only did lie seek to become Gov- 
ernor of Tennessee, but he considered himself fit 
for and vv'orthy of the Presidency of the United 
States. But his political career had reached its 
culminating point. He began to rapidly descend. 
The Democratic party had acquired complete con- 
trol of the popular vote of Tennessee, and none 
but Democrats could secure the higher of&ces. He 
was defeated as a candidate for the governorship 
of his state. For the future he was laid upon the 
shelf. 

Galled by these defeats, to succeed in the future 
he became a leader of the Know-nothing organ- 
ization. Unpopular from the first in the suspi- 
cious South, this also utterly failed him. From 
this sad period to that of the advent of the re- 
bellion, he lived in political obscurity, and pined 
away in private retirement. All hope of retrieving 
his political fortunes had been abandoned. He had 
made up his mind to yield to the necessities of the 
case, when the secession storm swept across his 
•path. This was precisely what he wanted. It af- 
forded him the opportunity of rising to opulence 
and distinction. He had lost all political prestige, 
and what little wealth he possessed was invested 
in the suspension bridge across the Cumberland, 
at I^ashville. He could lose but little; he might 
gain much. 

He readily floated with the secession torrent 
that rolled over his native state. He eagerly em- 
braced the doctrine and espoused the cause of the 
South Carolina traitors, though he had been a 



Webb's cross-roads. 431 

Union-saver, and supported the Bell and Everett 
ticket. For this apostasy, and for his zeal, he was 
soon adorned with the star of the Brigadier-Gen- 
eral. 

He was not a soldier by profession, nor was he 
much of a soldier by natural aptitudes or mental 
fitness. He had little of the general but a com- 
manding person. His form was of the finest pro- 
portions. He was tall, muscular, and strikingly 
handsome. He appeared the general — that was all. 
He lacked nearly all the essential qualifications to 
fit him for such a command. He did not lack 
courage; but courage does not alone constitute a 
general, any more than the ability to face and 
wheel in order constitutes a soldier. 

His warmest admirers admit that "he was not a 
brilliant man." He was too lymphatic in tempera- 
ment to be "brilliant'' as a soldier. A slow and 
heavy man, he was too inert to ever succeed where 
men of enterprise, energy, and ability were opposed 
to him. 

The only thing in' which he succeeded well, or 
excelled, was as a debater. When aroused upon 
the fioor of Congress, he became a rushing tor- 
rent — a crushing avalanche — that carried every 
thing before it. He was the Demosthenes of the 
American bema; and was one of the few men in 
Congress able to cope with Stephens of Georgia. 
In 1854 he closed in with the latter, and laid him 
helpless at his feet ! He was a skillful debater, but 
that was not equal to the skill of leading an army. 

Like all politicians and public men of the South, 



432 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE tTNION". 

Zollicoffer was insolently proud — proud of his opu- 
lent connections, proud of his own distinctions, and 
proud of the South. His was a personal and sec- 
tional pride. Being an American citizen was noth- 
ing to him, but being of the South was every 
thins:. In his vain heart he conceived the South 
to be the United States. 

He was infinitely greedy of gain and distinction. 
In the attainment of his desires he was unscrupu- 
lous in the selection of means. The only inquiry 
he made was, "Will it succeed?" Success, per- 
sonal success, was the end; every thing in which 
he engaged was the means. The intensity of his 
patriotism was graduated by the personal advant- 
ages it brought him — his love of country went no 
further than his pocket. Had he been certain of 
the success of the Federal Government, and the 
failure of the South, he would have been found 
associated with such men as Brownlow, Carter, and 
Maynard. But, like many other Southern politi- 
cians, he believed that the old Union was forever 
dissolved, and that the govemment at AYashing- 
ton could not hold together a year. 

It is claimed by his Southern friends that "he 
was a Union man while it was honorable to be 
such." ^ Here the whole truth is contained in a 
nutshell. Southern knights have strange ideas of 
honor. " While it was honorable "—while it was 
popular — while no risk was run in avowing Union 
sentiments — while it paid in offices and emolu- 

* Lynchburg Virginian. 



Webb's cross-roads. 433 

ments — Zollicoffer "was a Uuion man." When- 
ever it ceased to be profitable — whenever he found 
that he was losing caste — whenever it was ascer- 
tained that the majority of politicians went with 
the conspirators — he ignobly forsook the cause of 
his country, and meanly allied himself with its 
enemies. Such Unionism would ruin any country, 
and is only a dignified title for the meanest selfish- 
ness. 

As soon as he found that he could have his 
broad shoulders ornamented with the insignia of 
a Brigadier-General, so soon did he betray the 
flag under which he rose to influence and distinc- 
tion. He had no benevolence. lie was heartless, 
crafty, and selfish. 

In addition to all this, he was cruel. This is the 
natural consequence of a want of benevolence. It 
is aflirmed that he " mingled great firmness with 
marked kindness and urbanity." * lie may have 
been urbane — a man of pleasing address. Cunning, 
selfish, and cruel men are generally very agreeable 
when their interest is concerned. But his "marked 
kindness" was absolutely wanting, l^o man was 
ever so detested while living, nor more bitterly 
execrated when dead, than General Zollicofter. He 
manufactured enemies by the hundred, while he 
made few or no friends. His rash, indiscriminat- 
ing severity, his harsh treatment of the Union men 
with whom he once affiliated, and the rancor with 
which he persecuted all who did not chime in with 

* Lynchburg Virginian. 

37 



434 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION". 

his newly avowed notions, made him a monster, 
hated, abhorred, and anathematized. 

In hunting down the Union men of Kentucky 
and Tennessee, he was as pitiless and as unrelent- 
ins: as a blood-hound. He ordered his subordinate 
officers ^' to disarm all Union men ;" " to patrol 
all the public highways to intercept the fugitives " 
from his tyranny ; " to seize the arms of the 
Union men every- where, " although remaining 
quietly at home attending to their farming inter- 
ests, '' and place those arms in the hands of such 
men as would use them in the rebel cause ; and to 
subsist the troops upon the stores of the Union 
men " they were engaged in destroying ! Colonel 
Stanton was ordered to " first entrap, then capture 
all Union men with whom he fell in."^ He was 
to deceive, then make them prisoners, to die on 
the gibbet, or drag out a miserable existence in a 
loathsome dungeon, as thousands have done. This 
is the way in which the ^' marked kindness and 
urbanity '^ of Zollicoffer manifested themselves. 
He smiled upon and caressed but to destroy. All 
means were to be employed to arrest the loyal men 
found every-where, in Tennessee and Kentucky, 
who were fleeing from despotism and injustice, to 
afford the renegade General the opportunity to glut 
his vengeance upon them. They were innocent. 
They had committed no wrong, l^o crime was 
laid to their charge. They were simply loyal to 
their own country. They refused to offer incense to 

* Zollicoffer' s Official Orders. 



Webb's cross-roads. 435 

tlie secession Jupiter. But this was enougli to arouse 
the wrath of the tyrant. • Consequently, he took 
the greatest pleasure, not as a military precaution, 
but as a personal gratification, in torturing his old 
friends — his late pupils. At all hazards he determ- 
ined to ^' cut off" every loyal man within his ex- 
tensive military department. He was the terror of 
loyal citizens, while he was the scoff of our army. 
He could " entrap and capture " peaceable citizens, 
and terrify women and children, but upon the field 
of battle he was contemptible! 

This cruel and treacherous conduct rendered him 
the idol of the South, but the abhorred of the loyal. 
He was the secession Messiah. Had his opponents 
been ofily old men, women, and children, the deliv- 
erance of the South from the presence of loyalty 
would soon have been completed. For months Zol- 
licofier's name was the terrible word, by the utter- 
ance of which the Unionists were alarmed and the 
timid terrified. Like the angel that swept, with 
destructive wing, through the land of Egypt, the 
secessionists of Kentucky boasted that he would 
carry weeping and wailing into every Union house. 
This was not done, not from the want of inclina- 
tion, but from the want of power. 

The Union citizens of Kentucky and Tennessee 
were jubilant over the news of ZoUicofFer's death. 
The news of his fall sent a thrill of joy through 
every loyal heart, and imparted to them a sense of 
securitv not felt since the commencement of rebel 
hostilities. Those who first heard of his death 
rushed from house to house to impart the glad 



436 THE HEROES OF THE "WAR FOR THE UXIO^. 

tidings. Their cruel and terrible enemy was dead 1 
They could aiford to rejoice. Thousands rushed to 
the field of battle to gloat their eyes upon his lifeless 
body, and insult him, when dead, who knew no 
mercy when alive. 

Zollicofier's defeat and death permitted the exiled 
Unionists to return to their homes and loved ones. 
Thousands were the happy hearts on the twentieth. 
[Fathers once more embraced their families, and sons 
returned to the old homestead. They wrote exult- 
ingly, " At Home Again ;" '' Home Reached, thank 
God!" ^^Zollicofier's Embargo Broken;'' "At the 
Old Fireside ;" and, most touchingly of all, " With 
my "Wife and Children Again !"* It was a jubilee 
for the oppressed, exiled, outraged, and '^t?ruelly 
treated Union men ! They were happy. Zollicofiier 
was dead, and Colonel Fry, a brave Kentuckian, 
had killed him. These brave men embraced the 
gallant Colonel, and sprinkled him with their tears 
of joy ! They knew that, as Zollicofier was dead, 
if there was any change in their condition, it would 
be for the better ; it could not be worse than it had 
been in the fearful past. 

Such was the Commander-in-chief of the rebel 
army. But he was not alone. Associated with 
him was General Crittenden, the second in com- 
mand. He was a degenerate son of Kentucky. 
With but little ability for any thing, he had not the 
first qualification for a generalship. But the South 
were necessitated to use up what material they 

* Louisville Journal, 



Webb's cross-roads. 437 

could command, not vrliat they desired. He was more 
remarkable for his excessive dissipation than for 
aught else. He was not, perhaps, a coward, yet he 
preferred a perfectly safe distance from Federal bul- 
lets and Federal bayonets. Like the distinguished 
chieftain of the Peninsular campaign, he never came 
wathin musket range of the enemy : his life w^as so 
essential to their cause. 

Only for the facility and celerity with which he 
got out of the reach of Federal mnskets after the 
fall of ZollicofFer, did he distinguish himself on the 
field of battle. By no one of the Union army was 
he seen, and it was only through prisoners that they 
learned of his presence upon the field during the 
contest. He is good in a retreat, if for naught else. 
He carried back with him, to their intrenchments, 
the defeated and demoralized troops of Zollicoffer. 
33ut, fearing the prowess and presence of the Fed- 
eral troops, he hastily regained the south side of 
the Cumberland, placing the river between himself 
and our victorious army. Unfortunately for us, he 
moved with such great speed that our troops could 
not overtake, '' entrap, and capture him." 

General Crittenden was admirably adapted to the 
cause for Which he professed to be fighting. Both 
he and his cause were worthless; both were a dis- 
honor to the human race, and both were supported 
by the unrequited toil of the enslaved race. AYith- 
out the sweat and blood of the poor negro, both 
would perish together. 

These two secession Generals led out against Gen- 
eral Thomas ten thousand infantry, eighteen hundred 



438 THE HEKOES OF THE WAR FOU THE UNIOX. 

cavalry, and sixteen pieces of artillery. A proud 
and vain Mississippian declared that this force Vx^as 
sufficient "to defeat ^i'l/ thousand Yankees." "We 
can whip four or five to one !" said this conceited 
rebel, three days previous to the battle. Such was 
the strength and confidence with which they moved 
out upon the Federal camp. 

The force under the direction of General Thomas 
was about equal in numbers to that of the rebels. 
But he was inferior in cavalry. ISTeither General 
Thomas nor his men expected an attack from the 
insurgents. The former designed attacking the lat- 
ter in their intrenchments. But Zollicoffer would 
not await the tardy movements of our Generals. 
He took the matter into his own hands, and molded 
the opening events after his own liking. He left 
his intrenchments on Saturday, intending to make 
a night attack upon our troops; but, on account 
of unavoidable delays, he did not reach our en- 
campment until daylight on Sunday morning, the 
19th. 

In conformity with the orders of the General 
commanding, two companies of the Tenth Indiana 
were stationed, on Saturday evening, as pickets, one 
mile from the Federal camp, on the road leading 
to the rebel fortifications. In the advance of these 
infantry pickets squads of Wolford's Kentucky cav- 
alry were posted. In this manner these brave com- 
panies spent the entire night. 

The morning of the 19th was dark and lowering. 
Every thing indicated a wet, unpleasant day. While 
speculating upon the probabilities of the weather, 



Webb's cross-roads. 439 

about seven o'clock the firing of our pickets was 
heard. A courier arrived and reported the rebels 
upon them in great force. It was generally con- 
ceded that a battle was on hand. The " Ions: roll " — 
the roll that stirs the blood of the coldek and most 
sluggish — was beaten. To this the noble Tenth In- 
diana promptly responded, was soon in line, and 
hastened to the relief of its pickets. During these 
preliminary movements the firing in front grew 
grand in its uniformity and extent. There was hot 
work at the advance. The scene of strife was soon 
reached, and the enemy was found in thousands, 
making Herculean efforts to crush the two compa- 
nies from the Tenth Indiana. But by this handful 
of intrepid men the rebel thousands were met with 
a heroism so sublime, a firmness so immovable, and 
a fire so withering and destructive, that their ardor 
sensibly abated, and their confidence in an easy tri- 
umph began to obviously forsake them, while they 
were content to remain at a respectful distance from 
our men. On our side the battle was opened in the 
grandest style. 

Colonel Kise immediately formed his regiment of 
Hoosiers into line of battle, and speedily disposed it 
for fighting. The fire was enthusiastically opened 
upon the insurgent hordes pressing up in battle 
array, under their treasonable banners. Then com- 
menced one of the fiercest, bloodiest, and most he- 
roic battles, considering the numbers engaged, of 
this great war ! For an hour there was one constant 
roar and rattle of musketry. For an hour Colonel 
Kise and the Tenth Indiana stood up like a granite 



440 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

mountain ao^ainst tlie assaults of three rebel reori- 
ments. For an hour never did men fight more 
bravely or display more heroism than the gallant 
Tenth. For an hour it was without support of any 
kind, confronting and keeping at bay the whole 
rebel army, as it came up and wheeled into line of 
battle. At this conjuncture, when the contest was 
the hottest, and the ranks of the Tenth were '' being 
gradually thinned and mutilated,'' a regiment of 
rebel cavalry attempted to flank it on the left, and 
a regiment of infantry on the right. The cavalry 
were handsomely repulsed by Captain Gregory's 
company. But they soon rallied, and w^ere closing 
in upon it in increased numbers. Xo hope of escape 
from the flank movements of the enemy existed 
but in falling back, unless reinforcements speedily 
arrived. The Tenth was completely flanked upon 
both wings, when the right was ordered to fall back 
a short distance, maintaining its connection with the 
center. 

Just as the right wing of the Tenth was carrying 
out the order to swing back upon the center, the 
Fourth Kentucky, under Colonel Fry, came up at a 
*' double-quick" in splendid style. Colonel Fry 
took his position, and opened fire upon the enemy, 
on the left of the right of the Tenth Indiana. Ilis 
fire was of the most deadly precision. The enemy 
being thus checked, the right of the Tenth rallied 
and resumed its old place in the line. Every mo- 
ment the battle grew" in intensity and destructive- 
ness. Two Federal regiments were now pitted 
against the whole rebel army. They were as im- 



Webb's cross-roads. 441 

movable as a wall of adamant, and liurled a 
blinding storm of lead into the faces of the rebels. 
But one noble purpose animated the soul of 
that small but gallant band. Its purpose to con- 
quer or die was as inflexible as the laws of human 
life. These brave fellows might be stricken down, 
as many already were, but they could never, 
never retreat. They mowed the msurgents down 
in swaths. 

As General Thomas forwarded the resriments as 
rapidly as they could be formed, at this grave and crit- 
ical period of the battle, when each Federal soldier 
was struggling with five rebels — completely revers- 
ing the secession boast — Colonel McCook's brigade, 
composed of the ]N'inth Ohio and Second Minnesota 
Regiments, wheeled into line, and planted itself 
uj)on the left of the Tenth Indiana. These two 
brave regiments came into the action in the most 
superb manner, and at once opened a general and 
fatal fire upon the enemy. The blaze of their mus- 
ketry fire lighted up the whole line with the broad 
glare and vividness of a heavy flash of lightning. 
It was one continuous stream of fire. A wide sheet 
of consuming flames confronted the eager, advancing 
rebels. Its intensity and steadiness arrested their 
progress, and made it all they could do to hold their 
own for the time being. The terrible discharges of 
musketry that rolled along our compact lines, felled 
the enemy with frightful rapidity, j^ever had any 
thing like it, in severity and precision, been seen 
on this continent. The crisis of the engagement 
had arrived. The battle, having raged for three 



442 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

hours, was about to culminate in victory to one or 
the other combatant. 

Just when our firing was the most steady, con- 
tinuous, and deadly, a heavy force of the enemy 
was seen advancing, in solid column, and with rapid 
strides, upon the extreme left of the Fourth Ken- 
tucky, then engaged with the foe in its front to the 
utmost extent of its ability. The Tenth Indiana 
was sent to the left of the threatened Fourth, to 
repel the fresh influx of rebels. General ZollicofFer 
was leading a flanking column in person upon our 
left wing. It was while engaged in that enterprise 
that he encountered Colonel Fry, and lost his life. 
Had he succeeded, it would have gone hard with 
our brave boys. But the invincible Tenth, that had 
fought itself into a savage and unconquerable mood, 
had reached the point of danger, and, with the strug- 
gling Fourth, fell upon the approaching enemy like a 
crushing bolt. After a half hour's severe fighting, 
they drove them before them with great loss. The 
conflict was of the most stubborn character, and the 
rebels, for awhile, disputed every inch of ground, 
over which they receded, with the greatest tenacity. 
They had not dreamed of such resistance from, nor 
such brave fighting by, the Union troops. They 
had been taught to despise them as poltroons, and 
to regard them with contempt. They had expected 
to encounter but few troops and less courage. Dis- 
appointed, beaten backj and hard pressed on every 
side, they were loth to give up the idea of victory. 
Hence their tenacity. But the courage of the 
boldest gave way before the terrible onset of our 



Webb's cross-hoads. 443 

troops. From before tliose heroic regiments tlie 
rebels were slowly but surely falling back, and our 
forces were as surely but sloydy gaining upon them. 
At tbis conjuncture Colonel Kise ordered a "bayo- 
net charge." To this order the whole left wing 
responded in the grandest manner, and swept the 
rebels from the field as the wind sweeps the chaff. 
Thus the rebel right was disposed of. 

Driyen in confusion across the wide, open field, 
they halted and rallied upon a piece of high ground 
in the rear of heayy reinforcements of fresh troops. 
Here this portion of the rebel army made its final 
stand. The whole rebel force had giyen way from 
before our inyincible legions, and now stood at bay 
for the last time on this eleyated slope. The frag- 
ments of our four gallant regiments, that -had fought 
ten thousand rebels for more than three hours, 
moyed up upon the enemy in the most magnificent 
order. Then a most terrific struggle ensued for 
about thirty minutes. Nothing could exceed the 
gallantry displayed by both our officers and men. 
The seyere intensity of that half hour's contest ex- 
ceeded any thing that had yet occurred upon the field. 
More than was done mortals could not do. The in- 
surgents could not bear up against the storm of lead 
hurtled into their naked breasts. Under this heayy 
fire they bent backward, wayered, and began to 
hastily retire. But many still retained their ground 
with inyincible tenacity behind trees and fences, 
and in deep rayines. The nature of the ground and 
the character of their shelter rendered it difficult to 
dislodge them with musketry fire alone. The dog- 



444 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNIOIT. 

gecl manner in wliicli the rebels maintained tlie fight 
bj falling back from tree to tree, and the stnbbornness 
with which the}' disputed the Federal advance, greatly 
exasperated. Colonel McCook. " Fix bayonets !" 
shouted the Colonel to the Xinth. In a moment, 
in the teeth of a most galling fire, the butt of every 
musket bounced upon the ground, and the ringing 
clink of steel told the order was obeyed. "For- 
ward — charge !" With a yell and a leap, the ^inth 
responded to the order, and with a front as straight 
as a line, and as solid as adamant, it swept forward 
with the force of a whirlwind. The rebels did not 
await its approach. As soon as they beheld this 
formidable column they began to retreat toward 
their fortifications with precipitancy, while the 
Kintli gained upon them at every leap, and laid 
many of them in the dust. The retreat became a 
rout, and the rout became general. A wild shout 
of triumph went up from our entire lines that told 
a tale of victory, and that sent a sickening sensa- 
tion to every rebel heart. The battle was ended. 
A magnificent triumph had been achieved, and the 
last act of the tragedy was the magnificent bayonet 
charge of the Ninth Ohio. This charge wound up 
the contest, proved our troops capable of such a 
desperate deed, and gained the victory. 

But four of our regiments were actively engaged 
in the contest, aided by Kinney's, Standards, and 
Whetmore's Ohio Batteries.'"'' Why other regi- 
on the 18th, the Thirty-first and Seventeenth Ohio — two as brave 
and efficient regiments as ever went out from Ohio — regiments that 



Webb's cross-roads.' 445 

ments were not brought into battle is not posi- 
tively known. It is highly probable that, as the 
attack was unexpected, and that some of our regi- 
ments w^ere several miles from the scene of strife, 
they could not be gotten ready before it was seen 
that they were not needed, or before it was too late. 
At all events. General Thomas seemed disposed to 
risk the day in the hands of those /o?jr gallant regi- 
ments. !N"or was he disappointed. They proved too 
much for the ten thousand rebels. They are noiv the 
immortal four thousand, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, 
and Minnesota achieved a renown that will endure 
w^ith the unmeasured cycles of coming time ! 

To the Tenth Indiana a beautiful fla2: had been 
presented by the ladies of Lafayette. It had been 
gallantly carried through the campaign in Western 
Virginia, and waved over the boys in the battle on 
Rich Mountain. On this occasion it floated as 
proudly over- the regiment as heretofore. Brave and 

displayed the highest valor and greatest powers of endurance at 
Chickamauga and Mission Ridge* — were sent to the lower ot- Hud- 
son Ford on Fishing Creek, as it was apprehended that the rebels 
might advance upon Somerset from that route. But on ascertaining 
that the command of General Thomas was the object of rebel venge- 
ance, these two regiments were recalled and dispatched to his 
assistance. In consequence of the wretched condition of the roads 
and high waters, they did not reach the battle-field till late on the 
19th, and the victory was won. Chagrined and mortified that they 
were too late to participate in the strife, they entered upon the pur- 
suit of the flying foe with fiery energy. They were soon in front 
of the rebel works. 

* Of these two veteran regiments we will have occasion to write noble things in 
our second volume. 



446 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

bold hands held it aloft during the tempest of whiz- 
zing balls. It never reached the ground, but it was 
torn to shreds by the bullets of the enemy. After 
the battle it was all tattered and torn, but upon it 
was no stain of dishonor. 

In this fier}^ and severe struggle many of our gallant 
men went down. Some of our young, promising, and 
most heroic officers fell at the head of their columns. 
Gloom and sorrow were carried into many a loyal 
house by the tidings of our victory. Thirty-eight 
of our noble men were killed, and one hundred and 
thirty-four wounded. ]!^one were taken prisoners. 

The rebel loss was actually much greater. Bri- 
gade Surgeon W. W. Strew asserts that one hundred 
and ninety were buried upon the field by our troops. 
This number does not include the bodies of General 
Zollicoffer and Lieutenant Eailie Peyton. The 
rebels confess that they sustained a loss of three 
hundred in killed* and wounded, besides many pris- 
oners. For the coolness and intre^Didity of our men, 
and the precision of their firing, this fact speaks 
eloquently and decidedly. With such great odds 
against them, how so many escaped and so few 
were killed, in an engagement of more than three 
hours, is, indeed, inscrutable, and is onlj' partially ac- 
counted for by the steady valor and deliberate firing 
of our troops. The interest attaching to this subject 
is greatly hightened by the reflection that the rebels 
were under cover, and sheltered by temporary breast- 
w^orks, most of the time of the battle, while our 
troops were wholly exposed. In many important 
and creditable respects this battle will stand out 



Webb's cross-roads. 447 

prominentlj and alone amid all that will fol- 
low it. 

Among the regiments not engaged in the battle 
of the 19tli were the First and Second Tennessee. 
In consequence of this they were severely handled, 
and unjustly treated by nnmilitary men. It was 
more than insinuated that they were cowards, that 
all their Unionism was a paltry pretense, and that 
they could not be depended upon in the hour of 
trial. That great injustice was done these regi- 
ments is clearly proved by their gallant conduct on 
subsequent battle-lields. But irrespective of the su- 
perb record they have since made, it is self-evident 
that the Union men of Tennessee could not be cow- 
ardly. In maintaining their allegiance to the old 
flag, they sacrificed every thing, endured every con- 
ceivable indignity, and fearlessly braved death in its 
most revolting forms. Such men can not be pol- 
troons, and to charge them with such a crime is but 
a poor compensation for the great sufferings that 
they have undergone. Than the Tennessee Union- 
ists there are no braver men beneath the flag of 
our country. 

"What if they did not participate in the battle? 
Have generals discarded the judicious custom of 
holding a portion of their armies in reserve to meet 
any emergency that might arise in the course of a 
battle? It will be difiicult to satisfy the public that 
General Thomas was imprudent "enough to deprive 
himself of the benefits of a reserve force. The two 
Tennessee re2:iments that had reached the camp of 
Thomas from Somerset were simply a portion of 



448 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the reserve brigade. This, instead of being a dis- 
paragement, was an honor — a compliment paid to 
their gallantry. It is always the bravest troops who 
form the reserve ; for, if called on to act at all, it is 
when a great work is to be done — it is when the 
fortunes of the day are to be retrieved — it is when 
the tide of battle is to be turned back upon a par- 
tially successful foe. For this work the two Ten- 
nessee regiments, with the Twelfth Kentucky, had 
been held in reserve. Happily their services were 
not needed. The necessity of remaining idle, while 
their comrades were falling on every hand, was 
much more galling to them than the rebel bullets 
could have been. They fretted under their restraints 
like a chained lion. They felt that it was especially 
their fight, but were kept out of it by orders, to 
their great chagrin. Had the order to advance been 
given, they would have bounded into the contest 
with the vehement energy of giants. But as the 
'' reserve," they were held back, and their services 
were not needed. 

At an early hour, and as soon as practicable, our 
whole army commenced the pursuit, with Colonel 
Carter's brio-ade of brave Tennesseeans in the lead. 
Weary, wet, hungry, and exhausted as were our 
troops, they started after the flying rebels with the 
greatest enthusiasm. They pressed the pursuit with 
the greatest vigor. They were close upon the rear 
of the routed insurgents, and flung into their midst 
many a destructive shell. iTumbers of them fell 
into our hands as prisoners. The road from the 
battle-field to the rebel fortifications was strewn 



Webb's cross-roads. 449 

witli muskets, knapsacks, blankets, and other in- 
fantry trappings. In the spoil of the battle-field 
were three fine cannon. 

As the departing day was deepening into night 
General Thomas reached the outskirts of the rebel 
works. He intended taking them by assault that 
day, but darkness coming on before it could be ac- 
complished, it was postponed until morning. "With 
the appearance of early dawn, our troops were ready 
for the assault. But the broad light of the morn- 
ing disclosed the rebel army disappearing on the 
south side of the Cumberland. They evacuated 
their works during the night, and crossed the river 
in a steamer and barges. Their works were entered 
without opposition, ^ot a living rebel was to be 
seen, except their wounded, left in their quarters. 
All, all had made good their escape. General Crit- 
tenden, affrighted by the valor, and hotly pressed by 
the energy of our soldiers, dreaded nothing so much 
as another encounter with them. Hence, he hastily 
fled, and left every thing but his eff"ective troops. 
Every thing fell into our hands. The spoils con- 
sisted of fourteen cannon, fourteen hundred horses 
and mules, five hundred large wagons, one thousand 
muskets, their entire stores of subsistence, numerous 
boxes of ammunition, and a large amount of hos- 
pital stores. Besides these valuable captures, a 
steamer and nine barges, in which the rebels crossed 
the Cumberland, fell into the custody of our troops. 
These were immediately employed by General 
Thomas to throw his own troops across the river in 
pursuit of the foe. Thus the good work was continued. 
38 



150 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Upon the rebels tMs was a stunning blow. Their 
defeat was overwhelming. They could illy afford to 
lose so many stores, and would find it difficult to 
replace them. They were sadly disappointed with 
the issue of the contest. They were so confident 
of success that, like the Persians on the field of 
Marathon, they were preparing for a jubilee over 
the victory ! 

For our cause nothing had previously occurred of 
such decided advantage. The ability of our volun- 
teer soldiers to successfully cope with the rebels was 
most forcibly demonstrated. Their boast of superi- 
ority was forever hushed. It was no more claimed 
that one dirty, ragged, and vermin-covered rebel 
could handle five Union soldiers. They were fully 
convinced that the Federal troops were their equals, 
if not really their superiors, on the field, as well as 
in many other things. 

That our volunteers were capable of employing 
the bayonet with telling effect was also clearly dem- 
onstrated. At the point of Federal bayonets the 
rebels were driven from the field, broken, affrighted, 
and confused. Distinct and well sustained ba3'onet 
charges were made, at different times, by different 
regiments, upon that day; but the best, most ter- 
rific, and effective was made by the Kinth Ohio. 
"With a front of shining steel, and as a wall of iron, 
their charge was grand and conclusive. The re- 
proach that Federal troops could not use the bayo- 
net was forever wiped away. Even the rebels 
themselves believed that the " Yankees " could em- 
ploy the bayonet. 



WEBB'S CROSS-ROADS. 451 

To the loyal people of the loyal states the intel- 
ligence of this victory was as exhilarating as the 
breeze from the spice island of Ceylon. It proved 
a resuscitating elixir. It raised them from their 
despondency, and invested them with hope and con- 
fidence again. They were once more proud of their 
sons, and hopeful for the future of the Eepublic.' 
As a thank-offering they girded thousands of their 
sons with the warrior's panoply, and sent them out 
against the encroaching foe, praising the Lord for 
the victory of AVebb's Cross-roads. 



452 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 

THIS is pre-eminently a progressive age. Every 
thing is advancing. The energy and ingenuity 
of man are effecting wonders in all the departments 
of human activity. The greatest discoveries have 
been made and the grandest inventions achieved 
within the last half century. That to which our 
ancestors were attached, and by which the arts, the 
sciences, and activities of life were distinguished, 
have been discarded by their more highly favored 
descendants. Since their day the mode of doing 
almost every thing, and the machinery with which 
it is done, have been greatly changed for the better. 
Labor is much more profitably invested, and in the 
prosecution of almost any undertaking man is 
greatly aided by the various contrivances of ingen- 
ious men. 

The achievements of art and science are wonder- 
ful. The heavy and unwieldy contrivances of past 
ages have been displaced^their use superseded — ^by 
light, strong, efficient, and commodious structures. 
At no previous period has invention attained to so 
noble and commanding a hight. The mightiest 
minds, the acutest intellects, and the most inventive 
geniuses have expended their ample powers in orig- 



THE MONITOR AND MERBIMAC. 453 

inating contrivances for tlie enlargement of the con- 
veniences and comforts of the hmiian family. In 
this they have most marvelously succeeded. In this 
way, and by these means, societies and nations have 
been revolutionized, and the life of man invested 
with the higher elements of rational enjoyment. 

E-obert Fulton gave us the '' floating palace;" 
Morse has girdled the world with the telegraph, 
closely approximating the remotest continents and 
nations; while Ericsson created the world-renowned 
Monitor ! This is among the last great inventions 
with which the persevering efforts of genius have 
been crowned and our country blessed. To the in- 
ventor, the invention, and its stirring history is this 
paper devoted. 

John Ericsson, the inventor of the Monitor, is a 
native of Sweden. He was born, 1803, in Verme- 
Jand. He grew up amid the grandeur and magnifi- 
cence of the Iron Mountains of his native country. 
By these peculiar and natural surroundings his 
young and growing mind must have been deeply 
and favorably impressed. Under the most auspicious 
circumstances^ his great mental powers were rapidly 
and carefully developed. From the first buddings 
of his intellect, exhibiting an unusual .fondness for 
and surprising skill in mechanics, he had every de- 
sirable facility afforded him, by a judicious and ap- 
preciating father, for the gratification of his great 
constructive powers. He soon discovered a remark- 
able taste for mechanical pursuits. This taste was 
fostered and encouraged by his father's occupa- 
tion. Consequently, before he was ten years old he 



454 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UKEOS". 

constructed several contrivances that were really 
surprising for the genius and judgment tliey dis- 
played, and that would have done honor to older 
heads and more experienced hands. 

At the age of eleven, 1814, he received the ap- 
pointment to a cadetship in the engineer corps of 
the army of Sweden. While in this position, he 
gave constant evidence of superior inventive powers, 
and a mind of more than ordinary capacity. He 
was expert in fathoming the profouudest truths in 
his department. He advanced along and up the 
rugged hights of science with the greatest readiness 
and ease. Almost by intuition, he secured the 
knowledge that others acquired with the greatest 
labor and the most patient application. Such were 
his abilities, and such the confidence of the Swedish 
government in him, that, while a cadet, he was in- 
trusted with the supervision of several great affairs, 
though outranked in age and position by numbers 
in his corps. As genius every- where commands re- 
spect and confidence, he was no exception to the 
general rule, but at once took a high position, and 
secured an honorable place in the service of his own 
government. 

To the limited range afforded him by his own 
country he could not confine his mighty powers. 
He felt hampered and compressed within paralyzing 
limits. He sought for new and more extensive 
fields of activity. He panted for " room and verge 
enough " in which to give full scope to the energies 
of his capacious mind. Consequently, in 1826, he 
visited England, and took up his temporary abode 



THE MONITOR AND MEREIMAC. 455 

in tliat ricli and polished kingdom. "While there,he 
constructed several engines after a model of his own 
invention. These engines met with encouraging 
success. 

During his stay upon the Albion Isle, an oppor- 
tunity presented itself, in the ready improvement of 
which he found a wide field for the exercise of his 
higher and finer inventive abilities. In 1829 the- 
managers of the Liverpool and Manchester Rail- 
road ofiered a prize for the best locomotive engine 
that could be constructed. The engine was to be 
tested on their road ere the prize was awarded. 
With this offer Mr. Ericsson was delighted. It 
placed him in a situation that would best call out 
all his constructive powers. At once he set about 
the work, and determined, if possible, to secure the 
prize. The result of his efforts was the "Kovelty 
Steam-carriage." It proved, when tested, a com- 
plete success. He distanced all his competitors. In 
triumph he carried oft' the prize, valued alone as a 
testimonial of his great success in mechanics. His 
engine sped like an arrow along the track, at the 
amazing rate of fifty miles an hour ! The applause 
and admiration of the thousands of spectators were 
unbounded. It was the first great triumph of his 
rare genius. 

After this, Mr. Ericsson constructed several steam 
j^?'e-engines. These proved every thing that their 
builder could have desired, and fully answered the 
great purpose for which they were intended. To 
marine engines he was the first to apply centrifugal 
blowers with the use of anthracite coal. 



456 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Of the 'New World Mr. Ericsson had heard the 
most wonderful and favorable accounts. These ac- 
counts wrought upon his fruitful imagination, until 
he conceived it to be the very country for v/hich he 
had been seeking. It was the subject of his thoughts 
while awake, and of his dreams while asleep. His 
great success, and the importunity of powerful 
friends, could not detain him in England. He was 
drawn toward this continent with the force of an 
irresistible magnet. He 77iust cross the Atlantic. 
And cross it he did. To America he emigrated in 
1839. He had reached his goal. His El Dorado 
was before him, about him, under him. 

As soon as he got settled upon our shores, he set 
about the construction of that which would be 
worthy his great reputation, and raise him to greater 
distinction. His efforts resulted in the formation 
of the steam-frigate Princeton. This was the first 
steamer built with its machinery below the water- 
line. In the erection of this vessel, so remarkable 
was Mr. Ericsson's success that the French govern- 
ment engaged him to plan the French frigate Po- 
mone, of fifty guns. In this efibrt he met the most 
sanguine expectations of his French employers, and 
fully established his European fame. 

His next enterprise was the steamer Ericsson. 
Though it did not meet the expectations of its 
builder, nor the high hopes of the people, yet it 
was not a failure. He did not succeed in embody- 
ing his great idea, but he did not despair of the 
future. He kept his hands and his head busy in 
working out the great problem. 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 457 

But all these masterly achievements appear to 
have been hut preparatory to — the wonderful sym- 
bol of — the great work of his life, the astonishment 
of the world. In October, 1861, Mr. Ericsson con- 
tracted with our government to build the Monitor. 
In a little over two months from the drawing of the 
first line, and the laying of the first plank, the 
steam machinery and propeller were put in opera- 
tion, while upon the hundred and first working 
day she was launched. Thus the mighty struc- 
ture, to which we are under greater obligations 
than to any other vessel, w^as rapidly completed. 
To the genius and energy of no man does the na- 
tion owe a heavier debt — as we shall presently see — 
of gratitude, in its day of gloom and trial, than it 
does to Captain Ericsson. To him a nation's hom- 
age should be paid, and to his memory every loyal 
American should erect a monument in his heart. 

Such is the man to whom we are indebted for the 
means of achieving one of the greatest naval victo- 
ries on record, and one of the greatest deliverances 
ever wrought out. Such is the constructor of the 
giant Monitor. Such, in brief, is the man who 
has, with the force of his genius alone, revolution- 
ized the method of naval warfare. 

The Monitor is the naval wonder of the civil- 
ized world. To no vessel afloat, not even to the 
Great Eastern, has so much attention been given 
as has been bestowed upon this "Little Giant" 
of the ocean. Upon the Monitor the eyes of all 
Europe rex^osed in amazement. Its stupendous 
achievements carried consternation into every Euro- 
39 



458 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

pean court. It taiiglit them that their boasted 
wooden walls, the means by which the supremacy 
of the seas was secured and maintained, could be 
scattered to the winds like chaff, or sunk to the bot- 
tom of the great deep like lead ! The potent sover- 
eigns of the rotten thrones of Europe were alarmed, 
and almost panic-stricken. For weeks, from the 
anointed king to the most unpretending tar on board 
a man-of-war, the mighty Monitor was the subject 
of conversation. England, in particular, was aroused 
and alarmed. The great rebellion in America was 
forgotten in the deep solicitude awakened by the 
presence and achievements of this iron-clad steamer. 
The worthy British trembled for the security of the 
future. They had insulted and outraged the Federal 
Government when grappling in deadly embrace with 
a gigantic rebellion. Of all this meanness they felt 
guilty, and, consequently, cowardly. They were 
haunted with the fear that, having the means in 
the Monitors, the Cabinet at Washington would 
take advantage of their naval weakness, and chas- 
tise them severely for their perfidy. At once they 
set about putting their navy upon an equal footing 
with that of America. In a short time, hurried 
on by their torturing fears, created by the conscious- 
ness of guilt, their dock-yards were alive and ring- 
ing with the labor of the artisans in the rapid 
construction of iron-clad steamers. 

Thus, in one day, this small vessel rendered the 
mighty fleets of Europe, of which they were so 
proud, and with which the high seas were swept 
in relentless triumph, perfectly worthless ! 



THE MONITOR AND MEERIMAC. 459 

The Monitor was as singular iir appearance as 
slie was great in prowess. " She is a Yankee 
cheese-box upon a raft," wrote a sneering critic 
from JSTorfolk, Virginia. This brief description of 
an enemy conveys a clear and distinct idea of her 
when afloat upon the ocean. She was more " like 
a cheese-box upon a raft" than aught else beneath 
the sky. 

The Monitor was oval-shaped, and seventy-two 
feet wide at the center. Her black hull arose per- 
pendicularly out of the water. She was as straight 
all round as a stone fence, and as flat on the top 
as a table. She was destitute of both rails and 
guards. She had two square smoke-stacks, about 
seven feet in hight. In time of action these were 
moved out of the way of hurtling balls and scream- 
ing shells. The smoke and steam, when the stacks 
were displaced, escaped through grates in the deck, 
the iron of which was eiffht inches thick. When 

o ■ 

in battle, nothing remained on deck but the pilot- 
house. This was a square iron statue, about three 
feet high, and of the size of an ordinary dry-goods 
box. In an ordinary rough sea she lay as motion- 
less as if upon dry land. Upon her iron-ribbed sides 
the waves made but little or no impression. Her 
deck, beneath the feet of her oflicers, was as solid 
as a rock. 

A tower, about nine feet high, arose from her 
deck, looking, when near it, very much like a 
large iron gasmeter. The sides and top of this 
tower were about one foot in thickness, while it 
had a diameter of twenty-two feet. It was fur- 



460 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UMOK. 

nished witli two oval-shaped port-holes close to- 
gether on one side. The interior of the tower, in 
a most striking manner, exhibited the w^onderful 
strength of the whole vessel. About it was a solid- 
ity — an evident power of resistance — that rendered 
the thoughts of any earthly power disturbing its 
movements or crushing its material, palpably ab- 
surd. The quality of the great strength and so- 
lidity of the Monitor, and her evident ability to 
resist the mightiest force that could be brought to 
bear upon her, justified the officers' opinion that 
their little vessel was " invulnerable " to the might- 
iest rebel missiles. *'We fear nothing on land or 
water," they exclaimed. 

But two guns formed the armament of this for- 
midable vessel. And yet they were sufiicient. 
They were placed in the center of the tower. 
Their muzzles were in such close proximity that 
the two balls, if discharged at the same instant, 
would strike the enemy's vessel at the same mo- 
ment, and near the same place. This fact increased 
its destructive powers. The moment the mammoth 
guns were discharged, two immense pillars of steel 
on the interior of the tower, about six feet long, two ^ 
feet wide, and one foot in thickness, slid down be- 
fore the port-holes, completely closing them against 
the enemy's balls. 

Beneath the deck the Monitor was as neat, strong, 
and compact as above deck. It was fitted up with 
great taste, for the convenience of the officers and 
men. The ward was airy and pleasant, and the 
state-rooms comfortable. The engine-rooms were 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 461 

spacious, and perfectly ventilated, by an ingenious 
contrivance, communicating with the outer world 
of air from the deck. The security and well-being 
of the brave men to whom the safety of the Moni- 
tor was intrusted were well and amply provided for. 
The known humanity of the noble inventor would 
not have permitted him to build a vessel in any 
other way. He never lost sight of the comfort of 
man in all he did. 

A completely iron-clad vessel, the Monitor's 
speed was really wonderful, and placed the most 
powerful wooden vessels at her mercy. She readily 
made, in moderately good sailing weather, ten knots 
in an hour. This was two more knots per hour 
than the celebrated Merrimac could make. Of 
course the former could have escaped from or run 
down the latter, just as circumstances indicated. 

About the time that the Monitor was building, 
the rebels were also engaged in constructing an 
equally formidable vessel. When the imbecile or 
disloyal Federal officers destroyed and deserted, 
needlessly, our great N^avy-yard, at Xorfolk, Vir- 
ginia, they scuttled and sunk, among a number of 
other ships of war, the Merrimac, the newest, finest, 
and most powerful vessel belonging to the United 
States navy. She was a superb vessel. In their 
fear, treachery, or haste, the work of destruction 
was bunglingly and imperfectly done, and the 
rebels succeeded, in a short time, in raising her, 
and placing her in the dry dock for repairs. They 
saved both her armament and machinery. N'othing 
on board was damaged. Even her magazines — so 



462 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE IJNIOH. 

complete was tlieir structure and workmansliip— 
were untouched by a drop of the water in which she 
had been submerged. For the destitute and needy 
insurgents it was an invakiable prize. The Merri- 
mac was injured but little, and in no important re- 
spect. She could soon be made more efhcient and 
destructive than heretofore. 

These repairs and changes were immediately 
made. To her rapid transformation the insurgents 
bent all their energies, and brought all their re- 
sources. From a three-deck man-of-war she was 
cut down and formed into a single-decked but 
powerful gun-boat. Her large hull and tortoise 
roof were covered with several layers of railroad 
iron. Only her oval-shaped deck floated above the 
water. When afloat she appeared like some mon- 
strous thing of life, dark, huge and formidable. 
Her appearance, under headway, inspired emotions 
of awe and dread. JSTo labor nor expense had been 
spared to render her oiie of the most powerful and 
destructive engines of war upon the American wa- 
ters. To her prow a formidable iron "ram" was 
attached. Thus fitted out, armed with sixteen of 
her original and heavy guns, she proved, when 
brought to the fearful test, all and more than the 
most sanguine rebel had expected. To the trea- 
son or incompetency of Federal officers the insur- 
gents were indebted for the means of inflicting 
the greatest injury upon our navy that it ever sus- 
tained. In contemplating the events that followed 
the completion of the Merrimac's transformation, 



THE MONITOK AM) MERRIMAC. 463 

this fact forms one of the bitterest and most 
drastic ingredients in our experience. 

The seemingly invulnerable Merrimac was com- 
pleted before the little Monitor. Her appearance, 
in the Elizabeth River created the most serious ap- 
prehensions in the minds of the old and experienced 
officers. Commodore Goldsborough had no vessel 
in his squadron that he dared to put against her. It 
was feared that she would walk the sea unmolested, 
desolate our commerce, seaport towns, and wooden 
navy at will, unchallenged and unopposed. It was 
generally believed, though the real strength of the 
Merrimac was not actually known, that our wooden 
walls would go down before her terrible onset with 
but feeble resistance. A dark and fearful storm was 
brewing along our Southern coast. There appeared 
no way to avert it. The loyal officers and men 
could only close in and wrestle with it, though they 
might be crushed in the effort. In this way some 
of its destructive force might be destroyed. 

The somber-looking Merrimac, now and then, for 
several days, showed her formidable sides and pro- 
jecting ram, preparatory to her fierce and final 
onset. As she expected to have every thing her 
own way when she did emerge from her covert, 
like the stealthy cat, she thus tortured her victims 
ere she attempted their destruction. But she did 
not continue this initiatory practice very long. The 
day of sad disaster — the day of national humilia- 
tion — the day in which the naval aspects of the 
world were transformed, and on which Deity sig- 



464 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

nally interposed in our belialf, was close at hand. 
The painful suspense with which many loyal hearts 
had been tortured, was about to close, and the 
frightful reality experienced. Events were soon to 
determine who were to possess the empire of the 
Atlantic waters. 

On the 8th of March, 1862, the Merrimac, armed 
to the teeth, made her appearance for her sang'uin- 
ary work. She was accompanied by two small 
iron-clad steamers, or gun -boats. The morning was 
clear, mild, and balmy with the sweet breath of 
opening spring. Never did morning's dawn promise 
a more peaceful and auspicious day. The serene 
beauty of the expanding da}^ exerted a powerfully 
tranquilizing influence upon the minds of both our 
officers and privates. They felt kindlier to their 
implacable enemies than at any previous period. 
There was also less of anxiety and apprehension 
felt than usual. But this proved the deceitful calm 
preceding the terrible storm. 

The day that opened upon the world with so 
much beauty and promise, was destined to close in 
blood and disaster. About eleven o'clock a dark- 
looking object was descried rounding Craney Island, 
through Norfolk Channel. By the aid of glasses 
the approaching object was recognized as the long 
expected Merrimac. Those upon the look-out knew 
that that bold and unequivocal movement signified 
nothing less than battle. She was making a bee- 
line for the Cumberland and Congress, two superb 
men-of-war, lying off in Hampton Roads, near New- 
port News. These two frigates— right within the 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 465 

path of the Mernmac, and which she would douht- 
less first attack — were as well prepared for the 
struggle as they could be at an}^ subsequent period. 
That very hour had long been anticipated, and the 
frigates were not taken unawares. 

As soon as it was fully ascertained that the 
Merrimac was really entering upon her mission of 
blood and career of devastation, the officers and 
men of the Cumberland bravely and defiantly 
planted themselves at their guns, awaiting, in pro- 
found silence, the approach of their formidable an- 
tagonist, ^or had they long to wait. Looking 
like a half-submerged crocodile, the Merrimac 
plowed right on to the bow part of the Cumber- 
land. She approached her victims at the rate of 
seven knots an hour. 

The Cumberland was commanded by the brave 
and gallant Lieutenant George M. Morris. He was 
supported in this trying hour by two as heroic 
men as ever walked the decks of a man-of-war. 
These officers were Lieutenant Selfridge and Mas- 
ter M. S. Stuyvesant. But these were not the 
only brave and true men on board the Cumber- 
land. Within the breast of every one of the jive 
hundred by whom she was manned there beat as 
intrepid a heart as ever throbbed with loyal blood. 
They were all ready to do, dare, and, if need be, 
perish where they were. Lieutenant Morris de- 
termined to fight it out to the last, though all the 
advantages were with the rebels. If nothing more, 
all resolved to prove themselves not unworthy suc- 
cessors of the uaval fathers, and deserving of the 



466 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

renown whicli lias so signally distinguislied the 
American navy. 

Upon the Cumberland command was given to 
make ready for instant action. With superb alac- 
rity the men sprang to their duties. They were 
eager to enter upon the obviously unequal contest. 
They stood like pillars of granite, to receive the 
onset of the piratical Merrimac. ISTot a man on the 
old Cumberland hesitated at that awful period. 
They might not gain a victory, but they could 
preserve their honor, and secure a hero's grave. 

About one o'clock the Merrimac had reached 
within one mile of the Cumberland. Then upon 
the former the latter opened with her pivot-guns. 
As soon as she could bring them to bear upon the 
approaching vessel, the Cumberland hurled into 
her iron ribs whole broadsides. But these did not 
in the least arrest her progress nor slacken her 
pace. Onward she came, the balls of the Cumber- 
land bouncing from her armored sides as if made 
of the most elastic substance. Their only apparent 
eifect was the cutting off the rebel flag-stalf, and 
thus bringing down their colors. After receiving 
&Ye or six broadsides from the Federal frigate, the 
Merrimac replied with but one gun, the solid shot 
of which killed five of our marines, and did other 
damage. Pressing down upon her with the great- 
est head of steam, the rebel ram drove her prow 
into the side of our vessel, delivering, at the same 
time, a destructive fire. The opening thus made 
in the hull of the Cumberland was four or five 
feet in diameter. She was driven back upon her 



THE MONITOR AND MERrwIMAC. 4G7 

anchors with the greatest violence. Every timber 
in her quivered like a leaf in the wind. The water 
rushed in through the opening in her side in great 
volumes. She was rapidly filling, without the pos- 
sibility of relief. Her pumps made no impression 
upon the accumulating water, neither had the crew 
time to use them. The case had already gone 
against her, but she did not, however, relax her 
efforts of resistance. During the occurrence of 
these grave events she poured into her enemy her 
heaviest fire. E^or did the rebel vessel pass unin- 
jured when in such close proximity to the Cum- 
berland's heavy guns. Her mail of iron was per- 
forated and broken, but not to a sufiicient extent 
to impair her efliciency. 

Having thus dealt the Cumberland a most dam- 
aging blow, the Merrimac drew back to strike 
again and complete the work of destruction. When 
thus backing out, she remorsely swept the decks of 
the crippled frigate with her broadside, killing and 
mangling her rnen by scores. The havoc was 
friorhtful. The sick in their berths were scattered 
in bleeding fragments over the deck. In every di- 
rection the moans of the wounded could be heard, 
and the forms of the dead were seen. At the same 
time one of her shells set the Cumberland on fire. 
This, however, was extinguished before any injury 
had been done. But at length, advancing with in- 
creased momentum, she struck our vessel again, 
carrying away her upper works, and cutting in her 
another large hole below her water-line. 

The work of destruction was apparently finished. 



468 THE nEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

Through this second opening the water rushed in 
vastly augmented volumes. The shattered Cum- 
berland began to rapidly settle. The scene grew 
horrible — heart-sickening ! The cock-pit was filled 
with the sick and wounded. Under the direful cir- 
cumstances it was impossible to save them. The 
v»^ater had submerged the forward magazine, but 
from the after magazine a supply of powder was 
secured. By our unintimidatedj unconquerable, and 
decimated men, the firing work was briskly kept 
up. At the same time, and while thus heroically 
struggling against an assailant secure in her armor, 
they were conscious that the frigate was gradually 
sinking under them, and that she would carry 
them down into a watery grave with her. I^ever- 
theless, they fought on with the inflexible resolu- 
tion of drowning men, and with the bravery of the 
most chivalrous knights ! They determined never 
to strike their colors to an insolent foe, as desti- 
tute of honor as of humanity. They still retained 
their courage and patriotism, though about to lose 
their lives. And wdiile thus standing on the verge 
of the spirit world, amid the terrible din of the con- 
flict, they lustily cheered for the Union and the 
old flag ! They were heartily joined by the noble 
fellows who lay, torn, mangled, and bleeding, upon 
the deck! 

All this time the Merrimac stood oft* at easy point 

1 range, and rained her showers of iron upon the 

/ sinking Cumberland. ]S"othing so savage, so cruel, 

so fiend-like ever occurred on this continent before ! 

In all the elements of relentless vindictiveness this 



THE MONITOR AND MEEPwIMAC. 469 

conduct has no parallel. By the first stroke of the 
rebel ram, and first discharge of rebel artillery, the 
Cumberland was destroyed, l^o merely human 
power could have saved her. More than this an 
honorable and humane enemy would not have 
sought. But so brutal at heart were the assail- 
ants, and so malignant their purposes, that they 
would not desist from the work of death and ruin, 
BO long as the freemen's vessel floated, or that a free- 
man remained alive on board of her. Their object 
was not the achievement of manly conquests, but 
they sought the utter desolation of the government 
and people from whom they revolted. The anomaly 
of the most Christian and civilized people carrying 
on the most cruel and savage warfare ever known 
among men is presented to the gaze of the world 
by the slaveholding South ! 

By this time the water had reached the after 
magazine. But our brave men did not yet leave 
their stations, or cease to work their guns. Lieu- 
tenant Morris refused to desist from the contest so 
long as his ship kept any available portion above 
water. His hardy men earnestly seconded him in 
his heroic purpose. Powder was, with great diffi- 
culty, passed up from below, and the guns, not yet 
covered by the rapidly encroaching waters, were 
kept at work. Several noble fellows, passing up 
shell from the after shell-room, in their eagerness 
to serve their country, lingered there too long and 
were drowned ! Brave men ! The grandeur of 
their sacrifice equals the melancholy character of 
the fate that befell their ship. 



470 THE HEROES OE THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

The water liaving readied the main gun-deck, 
it was felt to be useless to continue longer the 
terrible contest. The order, after more than two 
hours' fighting, for every one to save himself, was 
given. Still some of the brave men of the Cum- 
berland lingered by their guns, loth to yield the 
struo:o:le in that manner. After the order to re- 
tire from the vessel was given, a gun was fired, 
while the adjoining on-e was under water ! This 
last gun, fired in the support of freedom, and in 
defense of the " Stars and Stripes," was touched 
off by a young and intrepid marine, named Matthew 
Teney. His courage and zeal had been conspicuous 
throughout the entire action. He fought with the 
greatest coolness and valor. But he did not escape 
a watery grave. As his port-hole was left open by 
the recoil of his gun, he attempted to leap through 
it with the intention of swimming to the shore. 
But just then the water rushed in with such vio- 
lence that he was borne back and drowned ! Alas ! 
that one so young, so patriotic, and so brave should 
thus perish ! But so it was. He fired upon the ex- 
ulting foe the last gun, and perished in the perform- 
ance of the noble deed. 

Few of those spared by the enemy's shot escaped 
a watery grave. Many who continued upon the 
ship to the last, unable to find any avenue of escape, 
went down with her to the bottom. In a couple of 
hours from the firing of the first gun, all was over. 
The old Cumberland had sunk in watQr up to her 
trees, and one-half of the five hundred patriots who 
manned her had perished! This was a great and 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 471 

almost irreparable loss. It was, indeed, the greatest 
disaster that ever befell the navy of the United 
States. Beneath the blow the nation bowed in the 
profoundest sorrow. 

Among the illustrious victims of that dreadful 
catastrophe was the Rev. Mr. Lanhardt, chaplain of 
the Cumberland. He went down, with scores of 
others, in the ill-fated ship. His was not an invol- 
untary sacrifice. He voluntarily gave his life to the 
cause of his God and his country. Brave, patriotic, 
and deeply, fervently pious, he could not reconcile 
it with his sense of duty to desert the sick and 
wounded of his charge when they most needed his 
presence and assistance. He cheerfully sacrificed 
his life at his post. He was one of the excellent 
of the earth. He has left but few such behind him. 
He was a most genial companion, a devoted Chris- 
tian, a courteous gentleman, a refined scholar, and 
a talented minister. A native of the East, he in- 
herited the courage and piety so distinctive of the 
Puritan fathers. "With the loftiest heroism — a hero- 
ism rarely equaled, but never surpassed by the ca- 
reer of man — he stood firm at his post until life was 
extinct ! l^o one more worthy of a mausoleum has 
fallen during this war with treason. But, strange 
as it may seem, the sublime sacrifice of the most 
heroic man upon the Cumberland is barely alluded 
to in the official report of the battle. "Chaplain 
Lanhardt is missing," is the sum-total of the rec- 
ognition of his conduct of surprising bravery — a 
bravery that found its source and vigor in his inti- 
mate communion with Deity, It is, indeed, sur- 



472 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE VmO'S, 

prising that sucli superb conduct should be passed 
over with the very concise statement that " Chap- 
lain Lanhardt is missing." But " he was only a 
chaplain." That is true. He bore not upon him 
the insignia of office, nor exercised the powers of 
delegated authority. He was simply an untitled, 
unpretending navy chaplain. That was all. Con- 
sequently, his sublime devotion to his divine call- 
ing, and his unequaled heroism, amount to nothing 
in the estimation of a sordid and haughty world. 
His wonderful self-abnegation, and the loss of his 
life in the faithful performance of his pastoral du- 
ties, flinging into insigniflcance the deeds of kings, 
generals, and admirals, of whom historians write and 
poets sing, and whom the world delights to honor, 
are treated with a sneer or cold indifference by the 
unstable masses, because he went down with the in- 
trepid of the Cumberland without military distinction 
or a naval title ! Had he been a lieutenant of the 
navy, a commodore, or an admiral, his deeds would 
have been emblazoned upon the national register, 
his name would have been upon the lips of uni- 
versal man, and the fame of his daring and devotion 
wafted to every clime and to all people. To his 
memory, consecrating his heroic deeds, a costly 
monument would have been erected by a grateful 
people, proud of the possession of such a name. 
Against the propriety of this we say nothing. In 
itself it is all well enough. But we do maintain 
that the brave — the authors of great and noble ac- 
tions, whether titled or untitled, in high or lowly 
life — should be treated with scrupulous impartiality. 



THE MONITOR AND MEHIIIMAC. 473 

From no one, however humble his position, should 
his just awards of honor and credit be withheld. 
Such, however, is not the practice of the sordid 
world. It is meanly, unreasonably discriminating 
in the bestowment of its praise and its favors. 

The Rev. Mr. Lanhardt was simply a humble 
Christian minister, bearing to wretched and perish- 
ing man the rich tidings of mercy. As a chaplain, 
he was barely tolerated by the powers that were 
over him. As such, he was awarded as few privi- 
leges and treated with as little respect as if he had 
been among the benighted Fijians. Even this 
meager courtesy would, probably, have been with- 
held by the shoulder-strapped gentry, had not some 
regard for public sentiment controlled their conduct. 

But as Mr. Lanhardt did not enter upon the work 
of the chaplain to secure social distinction, nor to 
secure the companionship and smiles of naval offi- 
cers, but to preach Jesus to the humblest sailor as 
well as to the highest officer, none of these things — 
these slights, indignities, and hinderances — swerved 
him from a life of the greatest fidelity. Faith- 
fully, nobly, with unbounded sympathy for the poor 
Bailor, isolated from all ordinary religious society, 
he ceaselessly prosecuted his great mission. He 
labored not for human applause, but to save human 
souls. He toiled not for earthly distinction, but for 
spiritual elevation. He tenderly loved the neglected 
sailor, and his fathomless devotion to their spiritual 
interests induced him to sacrifice his life to advance 
his work. With a heroism that rendered him one 
of the most remarkable men of the present age, he 
40 



474 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

went clown with the living and dying crew ! He 
would not forsake his charge in its hour of extrem- 
ity, even to save his own life, but went with them 
into eternity ! It was a scene both touching and 
sublime. The calm, retiring, unpretending minister 
would not separate himself from his children at that 
awful period ! He did not think of himself, of the 
dangers thickening about him, nor of the briny 
grave opening to receive him, but alone thought he 
of the pressing wants of the dying mariner. He 
heard nothing but the cry of the suffering ; he saw 
nothing but the mangled forms before him, needing 
his instruction, consolation, and prayers. His heart 
was profoundly touched by the state of these dying 
heroes. In ministering to their religious wants, 
with the language of earnest prayer upon his lips, 
he both ceased, at once, to live and to labor. 
Within the submerged Cumberland he received his 
sepulture, lying with those for whose spiritual wel- 
fare he gave his life. 

Yet this heroic act, this sublime deed, received 
but a passing notice and the coldest comment. 
" Chaplain Lanhardt is missing," is all. Except by 
the few deeply pious, Lanhardt's magnificent sacri- 
fice was hardly noticed at all. E"o ofiicial eulogy 
was pronounced upon him. His bereaved wife and 
orphaned children were not commended to the fa- 
vorable notice of the Executive of the United States, 
as should have been done. Like the noble husband 
and father, they were permitted, without even the 
solace of knowing that the ofi"ering he made was 
appreciated, to remain in their sorrowing obscurity. 



THE MONITOB, AND MERRIMAC. 475 

But My. Lanliardt was one of that proscribed, 
abnsed, tantalized, buffeted class, upon wliom the 
drudgery of a man-of-war, or of the camp, is laid, 
as upon a menial. This accounts for the ofhcial and 
public silence in reference to his glorious end. It 
is fashionable in military and naval circles to snub 
the chaplain, and stubbornly ignore his claims to 
the ordinary treatment of a man. 

The poor chaplain has a miserable time — occupies 
an unenviable position. It is true that there are 
instances where the chaplain and his arduous labors 
are fully appreciated and highly prized. There are 
a few officers, in both military and civil life, that 
treat them as the legates of the sky — the ministers 
of God. But they are only exceptions to the gen- 
eral indifference to and contempt of spiritual things 
and the ministers of the Gospel, distinctive of army 
officials. In the majority of cases the chaplain is 
only tolerated in the army, not appreciated and as- 
sisted. In the performance of his legitimate duties, 
he is more frequently hampered than helped. iSTu- 
merous obstacles are thrown in his way, and he is 
subjected to such annoyances that eat away his 
courage and paralyze all his energies. He is con- 
tinually reminded that he is in the regiment solely 
by the high patronage of shoulder-straps. He is 
made to constantly feel, in one way or other, that 
he is in the way, that he is an incumbrance, that he 
is an irritating restraint upon the appetites and 
passions of officers and privates. He is rarely 
wanted unless some camp drudgery is to be per- 
formed, or the wounded are to be looked after upon 



476 THE HEUOES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the battle-iield. His officers often treat Mm with 
open contempt, and his religion, or rather the re- 
ligion of Jesus, with levity. As it is from the con- 
duct of the higher officers that the " rank and file " 
take their cue for the treatment of the chaplain, he 
is frequently mocked and rudely repulsed by the 
soldiery. His life is full of vexation and grief. 
When really interested in the moral welfare of his 
regiment, under these adverse circumstances his men- 
tal agony must be of the most torturing character. 
He witnesses the rapid increase of immorality, and 
scores hurrying to eternal ruin, without the ability 
to arrest the one or prevent the other. To the pious 
minister nothing could be more painful. His efforts 
to do good are neutralized by the equivocal conduct 
or open opposition of those held responsible, by the 
Deity and mankind, for countenancing him in his 
great work. 

This discourteous, irritating, hampering treatment 
of the chaplain is kept up till, sick at heart, worn 
out, despondent, he resigns his commission in dis- 
gust. He would have cheerfully endured all the hard- 
ships and dej^rivations of camp-life, if he could have 
accomplished any good ; but that was impracticable. 

Though thus treated, hindered in their work by 
every device of the wicked, and by these things 
driven from the army, no class of men have been 
m.ore traduced, vilified, censured, condemned, or 
designated by more opprobrious epithets, than the 
chaplains, by truculent newspaper correspondents. 
Their incessant toil, deprivations, and self-denial 
went for nothing. It is admitted that a few bad, 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 477 

unprincipled, and ignorant men have obtruded them- 
selves into the office of chaplain; but, at the same 
time, while it is maintained that the chaphains, as a 
class, are of the best, most talented, and most pious 
of the whole land, it is strenuously urged that those 
alone who are ivithout sin should " throw the first 
stone." The corrupt and base are as bad judges 
of the purity of character as the blind are poor 
judges of color. 

As if to complete their humiliation, and drive 
them, en masse, from the field. Solicitor Whiting, of 
the Treasury Department, published an order with- 
holding from the chaplains their salaries when con- 
fined to the hospital by disease, or with wounds re- 
ceived on the field of battle, till they reported for 
duty again ! The inhuman and flagrant character 
of this order will stigmatize him so long as the Eng- 
lish language is the language of this nation. The 
salary of the chaplain, though seemingly large, is, 
when it is all received, barely enough to meet his 
expenses and supply the wants of his family. 'Not 
one of them out of a hundred will be able to save 
any part of his salary, unless single. As long as the 
chaplain has a dollar the needy soldier shares it 
with him. Thousands are spent in this noble man- 
ner. Eternity will show that the grandest record 
made during the war belongs to the chaplains— the 
hampered, slighted, and abused chaplains. Yet they 
are the men whom Solicitor Whiting would deprive 
of the means of subsistence vfhen sick or w^ounded! 
Alas for the humanity and piety of government 
officials ! 



478 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

The majority of cliaplams have given up their 
hard, useless positions, and returned to their homes 
and people. For doing this, nine cases out of ten, 
they are not censurable at alL The wonder is not 
that so many retired, sad and half heart-broken, 
from the field, but that so many had the conrage to 
endure and do so long, and consent to be a cipher 
for so great a period. And now there is but one 
chaplain to every six regiments of infantry in the 
Army of the Cumberland !^^ This is lamentable. 
This small number must be constantly worked down 
without being able to accomplish a tithe of wdiat 
ought to be done. Were it not for the benevolent 
and tireless toil of the members of the Christian 
Commission, thus essentiall}^ aiding the few chap- 
lains, our sick and wounded soldiers would greatly 
suffer for those attentions demanded by their situa- 
tion. The chaplaincy could be rendered one of the 

*This was so in January, 1864. The Rev. Henry Jones, chaplain 
for two years of the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts, on resigning, 
to take charge of the " contraband interests," says : " Of the fifteen 
or twenty chaplains who went out Avith the Burnside expedition, 
two years ago, all have now passed away. By resignations, by 
disease, by loounds in battle, by incompatibility, by malfeasance, by 
orders, all have left, and I am the last. Some have been replaced, 
but in most instances, I regret to say, the office continues vacant. 
Two important posts in North Carolina — Washington and Plymouth — - 
with several regiments of troops in each, have been destitute of a 
chaplain all summer, except as they have been supplied a small 
part of the time by the Christian Commission. This state of things 
attracted the attention of General Peck, who recently, with equal 
good sense and Christianity, issued an order in which occurs the 
following : 

"'The commanding General's attention has been called to the 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 479 

most beneficial offices in the army. Eut, in one 
way and another, it is tortured into ahnost a useless 
appendage to the military organizations. It has 
been robbed of its elements of utility. Those who 
are responsible for stripping it of its benign and 
elevating power, whether minister, general, colonel, 
or captain, must answer for it to God and the peo- 
ple. The day is approaching in which these alfairs 
will be fully adjusted, and the delinquent and guilty 
punished as they deserve. The agonizing cry of 
the neglected and suffering soldier — deprived of all 
solace by the caprice of his officers — will fall in 
thunder tones upon the ears of the crouching crim- 
inals ! May God then help them ! 

The torn and disabled Cumberland, with her 
precious freightage, went down with her Jlag still 
fioatiiig at her jpeak! "It floated for' days and weeks 
above the waters with which she was overwhelmed. 
It was a. miemento of the bravest, most daring, and 

number of regiments and posts without chaplains. As this state of 
things is the result of choice or indifference, it may be regarded as 
evidence that the volunteers have retrogaded from the high moral 
standard which they maintained and prized at their Northern homes. 
It is a sad and humiliating reflection that many of our gallant sol- 
diers, in the most malarious state in the Union, are deprived of min- 
isterial advice and consolation, and have not even the hope of Chris- 
tian burial. These things ought not to be so. They are repugnant 
to the instincts and feelings of the American people.' "* 

* From this it will be seen that the blame of failure does not rest on the chap- 
lains. The regiments preferred being without chaplains, and from the first 
labored to get rid of those they had ! The chaplains may be called "lazy ras- 
cals," and be charged with the crimes of " drunkenness and gambling," but the 
people will be very slow to believe that the men, so useful in private life, so 
pious and beloved at home, so soon degenerated into beasts in the army, and 
lost all power to do good. 



480 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

yet most hopeless defense that has ever been made 
by any navy of the world !" In its invincible hero- 
ism, grandeur, and dignity, the defense of the Cum- 
berland stands solitary and alone. In all that ex- 
hibits the magnitude of human prowess and confers 
honor upon human endowments, it has no parallel 
in the story of the past. This event proved that if 
this was not the heroic age of the American Re- 
public, her destiny was intrusted in the hands of 
the most heroic men — men who deserved to stand 
by the side of the royal crusaders. It was generally 
known that Americans were brave, fearless, and en- 
thusiastic ; bnt it required the events that signalized 
the defense of the Cumberland to afford a full and 
accurate knowledge of the unrivaled and magnifi- 
cent qualities of American freemen. It is not say- 
ing too much, when it is asserted that, in all the 
constituent elements of the soldier and patriot, they 
have no peers. The whole history of this war is 
but an extended and elaborate illustration of this 
assumption. 

The stirring events of that day, especially the de- 
struction of the Cumberland, awakened in the hearts 
of the loyal Americans a spirit of determined re- 
sistance that nothing but the overthrow of the 
haughty and heartless enemy could allay. 

The Cumberland was disposed of — sunk to the 
bottom of the sea ; but there was another vessel to 
crush. The Congress stood out about three hun- 
dred yards, south, from the Cumberland. To her 
capture or destruction the Merrimac, with the grim 
audacity of success, next and then turned her whole 



THE MONITOR AND MERPJMAC. 481 

attention. The Congress, having severely suflered 
from the guns of the rebel ram while she was strew- 
ing the decks of the Cumberland with the dying 
and the dead, perceiving the hopelessnes of a con- 
test with such a monster, at once struck her colors, 
and surrendered. She seemed to lack the courao'e 
to go down with her valiant companion. To the 
bitter chagrin of many of her men, her commander 
struck to the enemy without the semblance of re- 
sistance. Perhaps he did the best, under the cir- 
cumstances. A rebel gun-boat steamed up to her, 
and took off the most of her officers, as prisoners. 
The brave officers of the Cumberland preferred 
death to imprisonment at the hands of the rebels. 
But it was different with those of the Congress. 
"While the officers were being removed, the most 
of the crew, if not all, that were not maimed or 
killed, made their escape to the shore at Newport 
INTews. With the deepest regret they abandoned 
their ship. But, after the officers had surrendered, 
what else could they do? They were determined 
not to fall into the hands of their merciless 
enemies. 

Though the white flag had been run up, yet 
those who had escaped from her, in connection 
with some volunteer infantry upon the shore, would 
not permit the rebels to get on board the Con- 
gress. At the same time a portion of the infantry 
was detailed to rescue the wounded, and bring 
away the dead from the old ship. This was 
promptly done. The deck of the frigate was 
covered with the wounded, the dying, and tho 
41 



482 THE HEEOES OF THE WAK FOR THE UNION. 

dead. This T^^as tlie fearful result of tlie Merri- 
mac's fatal sliots. The vessel, when boarded by 
our volunteers, presented a most touching and re- 
volting scene — a scene that stirred the loyal heart 
to its profoundest depths, and filled it with indig- 
nation and wrath. The deck was crimsoned with 
blood; the wounded and dead lay in blood; and 
on every hand, and every-where, was the blood of 
our noble sailors ! At the bare recollection of 
such a scene the heart sickens and the head grows 
dizzy ! It appeared as if these humane messengers 
had been transported to the savage regions of in- 
furiated demoniacs. 

The wounded, with arms and legs shot off, were 
lying npon their backs, cheering for the glorious 
'' Stars and Stripes !" With limbs torn to shreds, 
and mangled, bleeding bodies, their courage was as 
potent as ever; the throb of their patriotic hearts 
had lost none of its original force. To their con- 
duct, both on the Congress and Cumberland, there 
attaches some of the most brilliant aspects of an- 
tique heroism. The deeds of these noble fellows, 
that impart immortality and give historic interest 
to this naval engagement, form the noblest sub- 
ject for epic song to be found in the entire annals 
of modern nations. One of these maimed and dis- 
figured heroes, when being removed from the 
doomed vessel, exclaimed, though deprived of both 
his lower extremities, "Lieutenant, let's give three 
cheers for the old flag, ere we part from it." 
Taking off his hat, he cheered as enthusiastically 
as if uninjured and victorious. Such is the courage, 



THE MONITOR AND MEEPJMAC. 483 

patriotism, and fortitude of the men of our great 
navy. After reaching the hospital, this brave fel- 
low did not long survive the loss of his vessel. 
His gallant and unconquerable soul took its de- 
parture early in the night. In his last hours he 
imagined himself manning his gun, and hurling 
death into the ranks of the traitors. The last 
gleamings of his waning mind went out in stern 
devotion to his country. 

At the close of the day, the rebel boats having 
returned to the Elizabeth Kiver, the Congress was 
set on fire. It burned freely, rapidly, quickly. The 
dry material of the grand old war-ship made a 
splendid bonfire. AYith her masts and rigging 
wrapped in flames, she presented one of the most 
awfully grand pictures upon which man is ever 
permitted to gaze. By the great glare of the con- 
flagration the whole heavens appeared brilliantly 
lighted up. The terror and magnificence of the 
sc'ene were hightened by the occasional discharge 
of her guns as the fire reached and heated them. 
Fifty-two of these pealed out their solemn death- 
dirge, one after another, throughout a greater por- 
tion of that dreadful night. In addition to this, 
within her magazine were thirteen tuns of powder. 
The fire was rapidly eating down to it. By those 
familiar with this fact, its deep detonation was 
listened for with the greatest interest. At length the 
awful explosion took place. About twelve o'cIoch: 
its deafening thunders aroused the weary sleepers, 
and rocked the shore upon which the soldiers 
were encamped. The unearthly crash with which 



484 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tlie explosion was accompanied exceeded in friglit- 
fulness all tliat its startled witnesses had ever be- 
held. Its effects, for a limited distance, were simi- 
lar to the crushing tread of the earthquake ! 

Again all was quiet, except the hissing of the 
flames, the crashing, dull, heavy sounds of the 
falling timbers of the burning Congress. In the 
morning this noble, stanch old frigate, honorable 
in gallant deeds and pleasant in her memories, 
was no more, except the charred remains of the 
blackened hull. 

At the close of the unequal and awful conflict, the 
Merrimac retired as a conqueror, proud, haughty, 
defiant. She had accomplished wonders. With but 
little loss to her crew, and slight injury to herself, 
she had consigned hundreds of her enemies to a 
watery grave, and effectually destroyed two power- 
ful frigates. It was regarded a magnificent day's 
work. Yet within the ingredients of her joy there 
was some disquieting alloy. In the cup of bliss 
was mingled one pungent drop of bitterness. Cap- 
tain Buchanan, the commander of the Merrimac, 
w^as badly wounded. Over the exuberant joy of the 
conspirators this misfortune cast a deep shadow of 
sadness. Yet the whole South was jubilant over 
the success of the Merrimac. The wild tide of ex- 
idtation ran high. That victory served them as a 
partial compensation for the disasters to their arms 
in the South-west. 

But for the loyal sons of the ^N'orth it was a 
mournful, sleepless night. In the fearful picture 
that rose up before their excited minds there were 



THE MOXITOK AND MERKDIAC. 485 

no shades of relief. The whole was midnight black- 
ness How terrible had been the carnage ! How 
great was our defeat ! True hearts became despond- 
ent and the gloomiest apprehensions tortured those 
in authority. They knew not what calamities were 
in store for them on the to-morrow. It was greatly 
feared that the Merrimac, intoxicated with her 
great success, and finding the highway to the sea 
unobstructed, would avail herself of the opportunity 
to rava-e our coasts and desolate our seaports, cities 
and towns. A repetition of the fearful scenes of 
1812 under the marauding Admiral of England, it 
was thought, would he attempted by a worse than 
British foe. It was feared that nothing could prevent 
her from destroying the Washington Navy-yard, nor 
from shelling the Capital itself. The danger was 
near and great. From that danger there appeared 
no way of escape. Our means of defense, brave as 
we our soldiers, were inadequate to the meeting 
of the great emergency, as the melancholy fate ot 
the Cumberland and Congress fully attested 

The approach of morning was dreaded. Alone in 
the shadows of night there appeared to be s^e • 
Yet the night of gloom slowly wore away. ^\ ith 
Apparent stoicism the impending f "f ^^^ 
be dealt by the Merrimac was calmly ^^f^'^- J'^ 
felt that, for the time being, unless the God of 
justice, freedom, and right "^te''P°--l.!, J^"" 
land, fearful would be the ^-^1 f^^^ X 
ns by this bad, bold vessel. But for such intei 
position there was little or no hope. 
' Sabbath morning, the ninth, dawned, calm and 



486 THE HEEOES OF THE WAR FOR THE TJNIOIS'. 

clear, upon the waking and moving world. All 
was as quiet as if the passions of ambition and 
inhumanity had never stirred the human heart nor 
shaped the human conduct. But the clear light 
of that Sabbath morning revealed the presence of 
a singular, strange, and black-looking vessel, nest- 
ling quietly in Hampton Koads, within sight of 
Fortress Monroe. In an instant hundreds of glasses 
and thousands of eyes were leveled upon the new 
and recent arrival. The gaze was long, breath- 
less, and inten^. At length they made out what 
she was. With a countenance radiant with joy, 
his eyes sparkling with delight, and his person 
raised to its utmost hight, an officer upon the 
walls of Fortress Monroe exclaimed : " It is the 
Monitor ! It is the Monitor ! Just in time ! 
Thank God, we are saved ! " It was so. The 
Monitor had arrived during the night. Deity had 
sent the little giant just at the right time to the 
right place ! Man's extremity of peril was His 
opportunity to disclose his permanent adherence 
to right and justice. That Deity had an active 
agency in working out our deliverance at that 
period is as clear to my mind as a ray of light- 
Though this is my firm conviction, it is no part of 
my intention to argue the question at any length, or 
at all. I believe that Deity helped us in our sad 
extremity ; therefore, I would thus confess his good- 
ness to us as a people. 

At an early hour the Merrimac, with the gun- 
boats Yorktown and Jamestown, made her appear- 
ance, driving directly for the Minnesota. This was 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 487 

our finest man-of-war afioat. She was a powerful 
steamer, armed with eighty guns. In her attempt to 
go to the assistance of the Cumberland, she ran 
hard aground upon a sand-bar. Here she remained 
throughout the previous twenty-four hours, an im- 
movable target for the guns of the Merrimac. The 
damage she thus sustained was considerable, but 
not suf&cient to impair her efficiency and vast 
powers. She did not succeed in getting afloat 
until after the reappearance of the Merrimac on 
the ninth, the second day. This splendid ship was 
almost helpless while aground, and could have 
made but little resistance to the rebel ram. It was 
the intention of the Minnesota to have fearlessly 
attacked the Merrimac, and, boarding her, crushed 
her great power by a desperate hand-to-hand fight. 
Had she gotten afloat, and had the Monitor not 
arrived, this desperate adventure vrould have been 
attempted hy the gallant men of the IMinnesota. 
They may have failed and gone down in their brave 
attempt to destroy a too powerful foe, yet it was 
the only hope of any thing like success. But they 
were saved from the dire necessity of such an efibrt. 
To efiect the destruction of the Minnesota, ere she 
could release herself from her fixed position, was 
the intention of the Merrimac. But this monster 
was arrested in her bloody progress. To her great 
surprise and great chagrin, she found the Monitor 
posted between her and her intended victim, ready 
to receive her. This discovery caused a temporary 
delay, and the change of programme. She would 
gladly have evaded the Monitor until after her at- 



488 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

tack upon tlie Minnesota and other wooden vessels 
of that squadron ; but this she was not permitted 
to do. For her there was no alternative but to fight 
the Monitor there and then. To this necessity she 
yielded with a show of alacrity. For a brief period 
the two iron-ribbed monsters stood, like prize-fight- 
ers, contemplating each other. They seemed to be 
measuring the strength of each other, and determ- 
ining their modes of attack. 

The Monitor, eager for the combat, moved toler- 
ably close to her grim antagonist, and fearlessly 
opened the great battle. Then was enacted one of 
the grandest scenes ever witnessed by man, or wept 
over by angels. Lieutenant AYorden commanded 
the Monitor, and Lieutenant Catesby Jones the 
Merrimac. These two officers bore a strikins: re- 
semblance to each other, yet they diftered in some 
essential elements of character. They were about 
the same age. Both were instructed by the same 
professors in the same ^N^aval Academy. Both had 
practiced upon the same ship. Both had studied 
the same sciences, and acquired the same general 
maxims. Both graduated from the same school, 
and were about equal in experience in actual life. 
Both were brave, fearless, and adventurous. Both 
were ambitious and aspiring. Both, on this oc- 
casion, were resolute in achieving their ends. But 
Lieutenant Worden was defending the better cause; 
Lieutenant Jones was a traitor — a rebel. These im- 
portant facts placed between the two young com- 
manders an impassable gulf. These were the bold 
champions, in the prime vigor of life, into whose 



THE MOXITOR AXD ME-RRIMAC. 489 

hands reposed the well-being or ruin of the mighti- 
est people on the globe ! The stake was great, the 
game desperate. 

Approached by the Monitor, the Merrimac ap- 
peared in no way to decline the contest. Her suc- 
cess of the previous day had whetted her appetite 
to the keenest extent ; and the blood she had drank 
intoxicated her with the idea of invincibility. Her 
commander was intent upon transcending the 
achievements of his wounded predecessor. At it 
these formidable vessels went with potent vehe- 
mence I Round after round of the heaviest shot 
was poured into each other. The balls rang and 
rattled upon their iron armor like a tempest of 
hail upon the roof of a house. After awhile the 
Merrimac, despairing of making an impression on 
the invulnerable walls of the Monitor with her 
guns, furiously drove her iron prow into or squarely 
against her side. The shock was harmless, except 
the rebel ram was partly shorn of her strength. The 
blow partly detached the iron prow from the main 
vessel. The Monitor did not sustain the least in- 
jury. Determined to return the compliment with 
interest, she assailed the Merrimac in the same way. 
The necessary position was taken, the necessary 
amount of steam was let on, but, in some unaccount- 
able way, the steering apparatus became unmanage- 
able just at that juncture, and she rushed past her 
antagonist like a crushing thunderbolt, just missing 
her aim — no more. 

About this stage of the contest, the Monitor drew 
off to permit her two guns to cool. She was not 



490 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

pursued. After an liour's respite, slie returned to 
lier antagonist. The Merrimac was apparently 
ready. The tiring was resumed with redoubled 
fury. Nothing could exceed its accuracy on both 
sides. After keeping up the fire, for an hour or 
more, at the distance of half a mile, the Monitor, 
wearying with so long a range, advanced close upon 
her stout antagonist. So close were the two vessels 
that, had it not been for the iron walls concealing 
them, the respective crews could have conversed to- 
gether. They now and then touched each other. 
Into one another they hurled their jDonderous shot 
simultaneously. Upon the sides of both the shot 
crashed like thunder, either glancing off or crum- 
bling into fragments. Apparently determined that 
the combat should speedily terminate, the Monitor 
deliberately approached to within a few yards of the 
rebel vessel, and thus plunged her solid, steel-pointed 
shot into her iron covering. She planted one ball 
in the Merrimac's hull, below her iron coating and 
water-line. Besides this, three gaping holes ap- 
peared in her heavy armor. She had evidently suf- 
fered severely from the Monitor's rough and potent 
handling. The battle was most terrific. In its awful 
grandeur, terrifying fierceness, and savage potency, 
there had been nothing like it on earth before. Their 
awful struggle caused the very sea to quake and 
tremble. But the conflict was manifestly drawing 
to a close. After receiving a few more shots from 
her powerful antagonist, the Merrimac commenced 
her retreat to the Cove, flanking the Craney Island. 
It having become apparent that she was defeated 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 491 

and disabled, loud, long, and boisterous shouts went 
up from the thousands of spectators on the ramparts 
of Fortress Monroe and the beach! The contest 
was ended ; the Monitor and liberty were triumph- 
ant ! The news of no victory could have given the 
people equal satisfaction. They were almost de- 
lirious with joy ! 

The Merrimac was glad to make her escape 
without being pursued by her victorious foe. She 
was defeated. She proved unable to cope with 
the Monitor. Lying for a short period near the 
shore, sl^e rounded out and turned toward a secure 
haven. In great concern the gun-boats of the in- 
surgents gathered about her, bitterly disappointed. 
Victorious on the previous day, but now defeated 
and ingloriousl}^ fijiiig — it was, indeed, humiliating. 

The Merrimac appeared much injured, and, as was 
thought by some, in a sinking condition. When last 
seen, her deck was crowded with the crew, and she 
towed away by the tug-boats. She was evidently un- 
able, from some cause, to take care of herself. Maimed 
and torn, the invincible Merrimac hurried away, in 
fear and shame, from the theater of her dishonor. 

The Monitor came out of the fearful combat un- 
injured, and as efficient as when she entered it. Her 
wonderful powers were not in the least impaired. 
Upon her turret and sides were the slight impress 
of about twenty balls. Her great coat of mail was 
proof against the enemy's heaviest shot. She passed 
unscathed through her terrific ordeal. A conqueror 
of no ordinary type, she proved herself a sure de- 
fense in the time of the greatest danger. 



492 THE HEROES OF THE WAU FOR THE UNION. 

But the sliot tliat struck the pilot-house did not 
result so harmlessly as those that struck her sides. 
It knocked out the cement from within, and drove, 
ATith great force, some of it into the eyes of Lieu- 
tenant Worden. This was the only casualty. But 
this was too much, if it could have been avoided. 
The victory would have been more glorious had the 
gallant Lieutenant escaped uninjured. 

It was at first feared that Lieutenant Worden's 
eyes were permanently, hopelessly injured. But 
this fear eventually proved groundless. Through 
the diligent skill of physicians, and the ceaseless 
care of his nurses, he fully recovered his sight. The 
champion of the Monitor bears naught but the 
harmless evidences of his great conflict. His tem- 
porary indisposition has happily terminated. 

Upon Lieutenant "Worden and his brave com- 
rades the people lavished, without stint, their grate- 
ful applause. He had shown himself a brave soldier, 
a skillful commander, and an ardent patriot. For 
his speedy recovery from his serious wound many 
warm and earnest prayers ascended from patriot 
lips to the ear of Deity. He had won a great vic- 
tory, and achieved for his country a great deliver- 
ance. By this means he won the hearts and secured 
the confidence of the people. His name became a 
familiar and cherished household word. With the 
Monitor and its immortal fame his name is inseparably 
connected. His achievements take rank with those 
of Perry on Lake Erie, and of Porter before Algiers. 
AYhile all classes were hastening to do honor to 
Lieutenant W^orden and his heroic crew, the Secre- 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 403 

taiy of tlie ]^avy, the Honorable Gideon Welles, 
wrote him, by order of President Lincoln, a letter 
of official thanks. It was couched in the warmest, 
and expressed in the strongest language of eulogy. 
This was no official puffi While the official station 
and sedate dignity of the writer guaranteed the 
absence of all Hattery, his strong and mature judg- 
ment would prevent an overestimate of the charac- 
ter of the achievement. 

''But why," has often been asked, "if the Moni- 
tor was so free from injury, and so triumphant, did 
she not pursue and destroy the disabled and retreat- 
ing Merrimac ?" It is true that the latter was per- 
mitted to retire to her moorings without any mol- 
estation from the former. It is also true that the 
Monitor was as free from serious injury, and as 
powerful as an engine of war, as when she fired the 
first gun. She did not permit the rebel vessels to 
escape for the want of ability to follow them. 
" Then why did she not pursue and crush them, and 
thus free the country from the dread of their pres- 
ence and power?" For her conduct her commander 
and the commodore of the squadron with which she 
was identified had the most satisfactory reasons. 
Had there been no other reason for her course, the 
utter exhaustion of her officers and crew would 
have been sufficient in itself. It was only in the 
early morning of the day of her protracted battle 
with the Merrimac that she arrived from ^ew 
York. From the anxiety and fatigue of this long 
and novel voyage they had not, in the least, recov- 
ered. Weary from previous toil when they began 



494 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

the conj&ict, tliey could not but be exhausted at its 
conckision, unless they were more than men. Ex- 
hausted, worn-out nature demanded a respite, a 
season of repose, to revive and recuperate her pow- 
ers. Beyond a certain point the most vigorous sys- 
tems can not be pushed. These noble, uncomplain- 
ing men, after days and nights of toil, had reached 
this point at the close of the fight. 

Yet, had there been no other difficulties in her 
way, she would have, with a wearied and languid 
crew, so followed up her advantages over her an- 
tagonist as to have utterly destroyed her and her 
feeble companions. Such a consummation would 
have been as ao:reeable to the officers of the Moni- 
tor as the advantage to us woukl have been im- 
mense, and the loss to the rebels irreparable. But 
such were the risks to be run in such an enterprise 
that the dangers to be apprehended would not just- 
ify the venture of so much. The sagacious rebels 
were amply prepared for us at every point where 
an attack would likely be made. They did leave 
open to our men-of-war and iron-clads a free and 
unobstructed channel to their only seaport of im- 
portance. 

Upon the refitting of the Merrimac the rebels 
spent thousands upon thousands in money, and 
many months of patient toil. The Merrimac, in her 
transmuted character, was associated with their fa- 
vorite scheme of rapine and carnage. Having in- 
vested so much in, and expecting so much from, 
this scheme, it was very likely that they would re- 
sort to every expedient that would, in the least, in- 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 495 

sure final success. It is reasonable to suppose that 
a people who could, with the most exemplary pa- 
tience, watch the Merrimac grow from a sunken 
frigate to a formidable iron-clad gun-boat, would 
resort to every precaution to prevent a failure or 
misfortune. This they did most efiectually. They 
constracted a trap at the mouth of the Elizabeth 
Elver, so that, in the event the Merrimac should be 
compelled to retreat, the pursuing vessels would be 
destroyed or necessitated to surrender. 

The channel of the Elizabeth River was so closed 
by obstructions and spiles of heavy timber that only 
a space of eighty or ninety feet was left open for the 
passage of vessels into ]^orfolk. A little beyond 
the mouth of the river lay the Germantown, with 
springs on her cable, ready to move at a moment's 
notice. Besides this, she was prepared, by large 
holes in her bottom, to be sunk in a few moments 
after the removal of the valves of the openings. 
The intention of the rebels was, if the Merrimac 
was pursued, to let her and her pursuers pass in 
through this opening, and then throw the German- 
town across the channel and sink her. In this way 
an impassable barrier to the escape of the pursuing 
vessel would be effectually raised. Had the Moni- 
tor been decoyed into this ingeniously constructed 
trap, her escape would have been absolutely impos- 
sible. The conqueror would have been captured had 
she pursued her crippled antagonist. Her triumph 
would have been converted into a most disastrous 
defeat. 

With these extensive preparations of the wily foe 



496 THE HEROES OP THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

to entrap our pursuing vessels, tlie Federal com- 
manders were perfectly familiar. Consequently, tliey 
did not think it prudent to commence a partial pur- 
suit. They concluded to be contented with disabling 
and driving off the insolent Merrimac. The in- 
formation upon which they acted was reliable, as it 
came from a reliable source. To the loyal contra- 
hands were they indebted for this knowledge. Had 
it not been for the fidelity of this degraded class, 
our disasters of the 9tli might have been ^ much 
greater, and of a much more serious character, than 
the disasters of the 8th. To the names of the lost 
Cumberland and Congress that of the Monitor 
might have been added. Eut that unfortunate, de- 
spised, oppressed, and debased race of human beings, 
to whom our generals and commodores are indebted 
for information of the enemy, that could have been 
secured in no other way, prevented the brilliant vic- 
tory of the Monitor from becoming a sad defeat. 
The Monitor knew that, unless she followed the re- 
treating Merrimac into Xorfolk, the pursuit, how- 
ever vigorously conducted, would be perfectly use- 
less. But to have done so would have been equiv- 
alent to placing herself in the power of her van- 
quished antagonist. Hence, no pursuit of her rival 
was made. 

In issuing congratulatory orders from the ISTavy 
Department, Secretary AYelles did not forget nor 
overlook the just claims of the skillful officers and 
brave men of the Cumberland. In the most courtly 
language and glowing "terms he pronounced a be- 
fitting eulogy upon their noble and sublime con- 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 497 

duct. He declared that the government "admh^ed 
their courage and determination" to sink rather 
than surrender, lie cheerfully admits that they 
*'holdly fought their formidable assailant under the 
most disastrous and appalling circumstances." He 
confessed that these heroic men had " proved them- 
selves worthy the renown which has immortalized 
the American nav}^" In behalf of the grateful 
nation he professed to acknowledge " their gallant 
services," and respectfully tendered them the "thanks 
of the government for the heroism displayed, and 
the fidelity with which the flag was defended." All 
this was both beautiful and befitting. The lan- 
guage employed was not too strong, neither were 
the deeds ascribed to them in the least exaggerated. 
The tribute was both just and faithful. 

Thus far the Secretary of the jS^avy had nobly 
done his duty to our victorious marines. He had 
publicly acknowledged the magnitude and magnifi- 
cence of their wonderful defense of the Cumber- 
land. But here, for the time being, his action 
strangely closed. He seemed to forget that those 
who escaped the carnage of the naval combat had 
any wants but those which the congratulatory order 
would supply. In his subsequent treatment of those 
glorious but unfortunate men he showed a degree 
of ignorance of, or indifference to, his duties really 
inexcusable. 

These brave mariners had lost every thing by the 

sinking of their vessel, except their trowsers and 

shirts. During the terrible conflict they had neither 

leisure nor disposition to think of, nor look after, 

42 



498 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UXION. 

*'bag, hammock, ]5ea-jacket, beddiHg, hat, or shoes," 
"When the battle ceased to rage, and as their 
frigate was ah^eady sinking, it was all they could 
do to save their lives. They reached ]S"ewport IsTews 
by swimming to the shore, or were picked up by 
the soldiers who were actively engaged in assisting 
them. The}^ remained with our infantry at this 
point until Monday. The soldiers stationed at New- 
port iSTews cheerfully fed, clothed, and sheltered 
them to the utmost of their limited means. Those 
who had clothing to spare divided with them their 
scanty wardrobe. Through those two days of suf- 
ferinsf and destitution, no naval officer came near 
the men whom the Secretary of the ^avy had so 
handsomely praised. If these suiFering tars had 
done no more to sustain the reputation of our navy 
than Secretary Welles did in his treatment of them, 
Europe "would feel nothing but the most supreme 
contempt for us. To have acted in harmony with 
his professedly high estimate of their achievements, 
and his obvious duty, he would have hastened, 
throusrh one of his numerous subordinates, as soon 
as the intelligence of the disaster had reached him, 
to amply replace the losses these brave men had 
sustained, to supply them with a new outfit, and to 
pay them their wages. It was reasonable to expect 
that this would be done ; and that, if any body had 
to be neglected, it would not be the chivalrous de- 
fenders of the Cumberland. But this was not done. 
They were shamefully neglected. I^o naval officer, 
authorized to supply their pressing wants, came 
near them. Il^aked, destitute, and hungry, these 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 499 

noble fellows were shipped, as so much live stock, 
on the Roanoke, for New York ! Ko one present 
"was authorized to look after their interests and 
supply their wants. As they had lost all while 
standing by their guns until their ship sunk down 
tinder them, they had neither bedding nor rations 
while moving from Fortress Monroe to 'New York. 
In the chilly nights of March they had to lie upon 
the naked deck of the Roanoke, covered alone by 
the star-lighted heavens, or by the few rags that they 
had picked up, or that had been given them w^hile 
in the camp at I^ewport E^ews. The officers of the 
Roanoke could not relieve them, except at their 
own expense. But what could they do for two or 
three hundred men? 

Such cruel neglect was apparently sufficient to 
have crushed out the courage and patriotism of al- 
most any soul. But these noble sufferers bore this 
neglect and their destitution with the unmurmuring 
fortitude of true heroes. They hoped that, on 
reaching New York, things would change for the 
better. They felt confident that the Secretary of 
the N^avy, who so keenly appreciated their valor 
and so eloquently praised their courage, would send 
a disbursing officer to meet them there. But they 
were doomed to bitter disappointment, and still 
more ignominious treatment. On arriving at New 
York they were transferred to the I^orth Carolina, 
the receiving- ship, on which was no one authorized 
to properly receive them. They asked for bedding, 
but they could secure it only at their own expense. 
But as they did not feel able to pay, each, eleven 



500 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE UNION. 

dollars for articles witli wliicli the Secretary of the 
Kavy should have furnished them days before, they 
were necessitated, as heretofore, to sleep upon the 
cold planks of their shijD ! 

In a few days they received permission to go on 
shore. But, instead of paying them off, as is the in- 
variable custom, the heroes of the Cumberland, so 
highly lauded by the delighted Secretary, were per- 
mitted to go on shore without a farthing in their 
possession ! The paymaster had received no orders 
about them, and, consequently, could do nothing 
for them. To complete their humiliation and deep 
sense of degradation, they were indebted to the 
charity of strangers for the means of crossing the 
ferry to l^ew York ! Then, to keep from starving, 
and to secure shelter from the cold, bleak winds of 
March, they were compelled to knock for admission 
to the ^' Sailor's Home." The eulogized heroes of 
the Cumberland — the marines of world-wide fame — • 
were thrown upon the alms of a charitable institu- 
tion ! This was the recompensing treatment they 
received from the government they had so nobly 
defended. The contemplation of this outrage upon 
the most unfortunate, as well as the most deserving, 
of men, must move the indignation and arouse the 
scorn of the loyal masses. Comfortably provided 
for, seated in his snug and attractive office, at an 
infinite distance from danger, with the bodies and 
brave hearts of such men as he cruelly neglected 
between him and his foes. Secretary Welles Vv^as ap- 
parently undisturbed by a solitary thought of the 
suffering and destitution of the defenders of the 



THE MONITOK AND MERRIMAC. 501 

Cumberland. Apparently, in his congratulatory let- 
ter, he had done all for the destitute tars that en- 
tered his self-satisfied mind as essential to their hap- 
piness. Here the whole thing ended. To say the 
least, this ofiicial negligence is inexcusable. Il^oth- 
ing could justify such conduct. It was the deformed 
offspring of selfishness — a selfishness that blights 
and curses all it touches. Within the various de- 
partments of government there is enough of this 
selfish negligence to ruin any people. From it our 
soldiers and sailors have suffered more than from 
any other cause. " Red tape " so frequently stran- 
gles its victims that it should be annihilated by 
strangling those who have rendered it so odious and 
injurious to our country. To the '^red tape" of the 
stately Department of the Navy, or to something 
worse, the champions of the Cumberland owed 
weeks of suffering, shame, and indignation. 

It would, indeed, be highly gratifying to extend the 
narrative of the achievements of the Monitor. But 
this can not be done. Her career was brief, but mag- 
nificent. She accomplished a stupendous work. 
Having defeated her powerful antagonist, and driven 
her in disgrace from the field, she remained, through 
the summer, in Hampton Roads, guarding our ship- 
ping, and closing the port to our enemy's vessels. 

In the month of December, after witnessing the 
destruction of the Merrimac by her own command- 
er — blown to atoms^^the Monitor was placed in a 
new squadron, and under a new commander. Com- 
modore Dupont had charge of the iron-clad fleet, of 
which the Monitor was one. Charleston, South 



502 THE HEROES OF THE WAR FOR THE rNIOIS". 

Carolina, tlie great disturber of American peace, was 
their ultimate destination. With this movement the 
Monitor was delighted. It aiforded her a wider and 
more befitting field of activities. She commenced her 
movements South under the most encouraging cir- 
cumstances. The weather -was fair, the ocean tran- 
quil, and the progress rapid. Another day, such as 
she and her iron-clad companions had had during 
the voyage, would give her secure anchorage at 
Port Eoyal. But, on the 30th of December, the 
heavens grew dark and threatening, dark clouds 
hung, in alarming multitude, above the fleet, the 
wind blew a continuously increasing gale, and the 
waves ran mountain high. By the close of the day 
the storm had grown into the awful proportions of 
a hurricane. The Monitor was unaccustomed to so 
rough and terrific a sea. For hours she labored 
heavily, and began to so open as to admit great 
quantities of water. So fierce, so awful was the 
tempest, that it was feared but few, if any, of the 
iron-clads could .outride or survive it. As the day 
was gliding into night the Monitor flung out the 
signal of extreme distress. But it was utterly im- 
possible, in such a gale and in such a sea, to af- 
ford her any relief. The vessels within sight of 
her had all they could do to keep themselves from 
foundering. The rolling, dipping, tossing Monitor 
was left to take care of herself. This was mani- 
festly unavoidable. 

During the night the storm had spent its force. 
On the morning of the 31st of December the sky 
was clear, and the ocean growing calm. But the 



THE MONITOR AND MERRIMAC. 503 

Monitor was nowhere to be seen ! During the 
early part of the night, and when the sea was the 
most turbulent, as her lights were anxiously 
watched from the other vessels, they were seen to 
go out, or entirely disappear. This was the last of 
her. The Monitor, with all on board, had sunk to 
the bottom of the Atlantic! There, in the deep 
sands, rank sea-weeds, and varied shells, she now re- 
poses as the sepulcher of her noble dead ! This was 
a mournful termination to so proud and glorious a 
career. On her at the time she went down were 07ie 
of her officers and sixteen of her crew ! These all 
perished in sight of the other vessels of the fleet. 
But for them there was no earthly help. The Mon- 
itor, so endeared to us by her grand achievements, is 
no more ! But, ere she went down, she performed a 
work that no other vessel then existing could have 
accomplished. She has made for herself a sublime 
record, and her sad exit but increases the tenderness 
with which her great deeds are remembered. A na- 
tion deeply deplores the misfortunes that deprived it 
of the services of so mighty and efficient "an engine 
of war. 



INDEX TO VOLUME I. 



CHAPTER I, 



Fort Sumter. — Presidential campaign of 1860 — its character and 
results, 11; Disappointment of the loyal, 12; Attitude of the 
South after Lincoln's election — insolence of rebels, 13; Mis- 
apprehend the North, 13; South Carolina secedes, 14; Major 
Anderson in Fort Moultrie, 14 ; Rebel preparations to crush 
him, 14; Anderson resolves to occupy Sumter, 15; Sumter de- 
scribed, 16; Difficulties in reaching Sumter, 17; Resorts to strat- 
agem — an invitation to a Christmas feast in Charleston fur- 
nishes him the means of reaching Sumter, 18; Defeats the rebels 
at their own game, 19; On Christmas night evacuates Moultrie 
and occupies Sumter, 22; Rebels chagrined, 22; Vast results of 
the occupation of Sumter, 24; Buchanan's dissolute administra- 
tion, 28; Left Anderson to his fate, 28; The rebels prepare to 
take Sumter, 29; Anderson forbidden to fire on them, 31; Fed- 
eral property captured, 31; Rebels full of hope, 32; Star of the 
West fired on, 33 ; Cruelty of rebels, 36 ; Rebel patience ex- 
hausted, 37 ; Pen-portrait of Beauregard, 37 ; The combatants, 
44 ; The conflict opened, 45 ; Chestnut, 45 ; First day, 46 ; Mr. 
Hart, 47; Second day, 48; Sumter in flames, 49; Wigfall, 50; 
Sumter surrenders, 51; Losses of the engagement, 52; Eifects of 
the fall of Sumter on the loyal masses, 53; The people reso- 
lute, 68. 

CHAPTER II. 

Anderson, — His birth — enters West Point, 59 ; Graduates — his career 
afterward, 60; As an author, 62; His conduct in Mexico, 63; As 
a patriot, 64 ; His mental powers, 65 ; A hero, 66 ; His record, 
67; His moral character, 68; The advantages of piety in a sol- 
dier, 69; His religion his greatest excellence, 71; His modesty, 
72 j Failure of his health, 74; His great popularity, 74. 
43 (505) 



506 INDEX. 



CHAPTEE III. 

Officers of Sumter. — Associated effort — its results, 76; Captcaiu 
Doublcday, 78 ; Captain Sej-mour, 82 ; His part in the Peninsula 
Campaign, 8G; Fii'st Lieutenant Talbot, 88; First Lieutenant 
Davis, 93 ; His difficulty with Nelson, 99 ; Second Lieutenant 
Hall, 105; Captain Foster, 106; First Lieutenant Snyder, 107; 
Second Lieutenant Meade, 108; The Boys of Sumter, 108; Lin- 
coln's opinion of the privates, 111. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Baltimore. — Rapid defection of the South, 113; Border States 
aroused, 113; The South expect an easy triumph, 115; Expected 
to occupy Federal Capital, 116 ; Their failure singular, 117 ; Tried 
to keep troops from Capital, 118; Massachusetts Sixth in Balti- 
more, 118; The mob in the city, 120; Wealthy rebels, 122; The 
treatment of the Sixth, 121; The band of the Sixth assailed, 127; 
Saved by a laborer and his wife, 129 ; Massachusetts burying her 
dead soldiers, 131 ; The young soldier, 132; The mob on the 20th, 
134; Marshal Kane, 137; The awful Sabbath in the city, 138; 
A commission visits Lincoln, 110; Mob quieted, 111; Lincoln's 
prudence, 141 ; Loyal people exasperated, 143 ; " Through Balti- 
more," 144 ; Butler seizes the city, 146. 

CHAPTER V. 

Ellsworth. — The best fall the first, 148; His birth place — the char- 
acter of his early cultui*e, 149; His school-days, 150; His youth- 
ful nobleness, 150 ; A gi'eat reader, 151 ; Amusements, 151; Gen- 
erosity, 152; Enters public life, 153; A printer, 153; Comes 
West, 154; Applies for an appointment in the army, 154; Too 
humble, 155; His resoluteness, 155; Studies law at Chicago, 155; 
Begins his military career, 156 ; Organizes Zouave Cadets, 156 ; 
Strict in discipline, 158; Exhibits his company through the States, 
159; Effects of his trip, 161; Enters Mr. Lincoln's law-office as 
a student, 162; Admitted to the bar, 164; First clerkship in War 
Office promised him, 165 ; Disappointed, 165 ; Accompanies the 
President to Capitol, 166 ; Disgusted wuth baseness of office- 
Beekers, 168; Appointed Lieutenant, 169; His treatment from 
West Pointers, 169; Appointed Colonel — raises a regiment from 



INDEX. 507 

New York Fire Department, 170; Crosses over into Virginia, 172 ; 
His last letters, 173; Is murdered, 176; Jackson, his murderer, 
177; The grief of the people, 181; Grief of the President 183; 
The agony of his soldiers, 185 ; His splendid career, 187. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Big Bethel. — Distinguished localities, 189; Big Bethel, 190; Gen- 
eral Butler, 190 ; Fortress Monroe, 192 ; Rebels in front, 192 ; A 
brigade sent out to dislodge them, 193; General Pierce, 193; 
A sad blunder, 195; His attack of Big Bethel, 195; Lieutenant 
Greble, 196 ; The hero, 202 ; Major Winthrop, 203 ; The attack a 
• failure, 223. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Fort Henry. — The gloom of this period, 224; Condition of our 
army, 225; Webb's Cross-roads, 226; The joy of success, 227; 
Fort Henry, 228; Attacked by Commodore Foote, 229; The fleet, 
230; The bombardment, 230; The surrender, 232 ; The character 
of the action, 235; The gun-boats, 236; The effects and spoils of 
victoiy, 237; Commodore Foote, 238; Tilghman, 244; Southern 
aristocracy, 249; The rebel soldiers, 250; The courage of our 
troops, 251 ; Stemble, Paulding, Porter, and others, 252 ; The 
pilots, 253 ; Artillerists of gun-boats, 254 ; Gun-boat literature, 
255; A touching incident, 256. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

General Lander. — The brave are the first to fall, 259; Lander por- 
trayed, 260; On the overland route to the Pacific, 263; Comes 
home a hero, 265; Reappears Mr. Potter's "second," 265; Potter 
and Pryor portrayed, 265 ; Their debate in Congress, 271 ; Their 
duel, 272; How Lander managed it, 272; He goes to California, 
275; Marries Miss Davenport, 275; Responds to Lincoln's call 
for volunteers, 276; He serves in West Virginia, 277; Attacks 
Philippi, 278; His sublime conduct, 280; At Rich Mountain 
battle, 284; Accompanied McClellau to Washington, 289; Hia 
conduct while there, 290; Not happy in his position, 291; Es- 
tranged from McClellan, 293; Wounded at Ball's Blufl^, 294; 
Oppressed by his confinement, 296 ; Supersedes General Kelly at 



508 INDEX. 

Cumberland, 297; Very popular with his troops, 298; Foiled 
General Jackson, 298; His health rapidly fails, 301; Failed to 
capture Jackson through interference of his superiors, oOl ; He 
dies, 302; What he was, 303; Believed in the Bible, 304. 

CHAPTER IX. 

General Lyon. — This country a unit, 306; The rapid spread of 
treason, 306 ; Forts surrendered, 306 ; Oasis of loyalty, 307 ; 
Nathaniel Lyon, 307; Governor Jackson, 322; Camp Jackson, 
823 ; General Frost, 325 ; Saint Louis important to the rebels, 
326; Germans, 327; Camp Jackson captured, 328; Lyon super- 
seded, 330 ; Lyon vindicated, 331 ; General Harney, 836 ; Lyon 
reinstated, 340; Its eflects, 340; General Price, 842; Battle at 
Boonville, 845 ; Sturgis, 851 ; Sigel, 352 ; Boernstein, 354 ; Fre- 
mont, 356; His emancipation proclamation, 358; Fremont re- 
moved, 862 ; The state of affairs, 368 ; Operations of the army, 
366; Troops sent to Washington, 367; Spviugfield, 871; Lyon's 
gloom, 374; The battle, 376; Lyon fails, 883; Army r^ires, 884; 
Lyon, 386 ; His body rescued, 887 ; Buried in his native state, 889. 

CHAPTER X. 

Webb's Cross-Roabs. — The state of the country, 890; The rebels, 
391; Federal forces, 392 ; General Thomas, 395; General Schoepf, 
405; Colonel Fry, 407; Colonel McCook, 410; His death, 427 ; 
Zollicoifer, 428; His cruelty, 483; Joy at his death, 485; Crit^ 
tenden, 486; The number of rebel troops engaged, 487; Number 
of Federal troops, 438; The battle described, 488; The victory, 
444; The four regiments, 444; The losses of both armies, 446; 
Tennessee Union troops vindicated, 447; The j^ursuit, 448; The 
spoils, 449 ; The effects of the victory, 450. 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Monitor and Merrimac. — A progressive age, 452; John Erics- 
son, 458 ; Comes to America, 456 ; Invents the Monitor, 457 ; 
]S|onitor described, 457; The Merrimac, 461; Her attack on the 
Cumberland, 464 ; The contest, 466 ; The Cumberland sinks, 469 ; 
Chaplain Lanhardt, 471; His death, 474; Chaplains vindicated, 
475; Solicitor Whiting's ordei', 477 ; Note, 478; The flag of the 



INDEX. 509 

Cumberland, 479; The heroism of her men, 480; The Congress, 
480; She surrenders, 481 ; Her decks, 481; The patriotism of 
her wounded, 482 ; Congress burned, 483 ; Joy in the South, 484 ; 
Gloom in the North, 484 ; The Monitor arrives, 486 ; The Minne- 
sota, 486; Battle between the Monitor and Merrimac, 488; The 
two commanders, 488; Merrimac defeated, 490; Worden wounded, 
492; Congratulatory letter, 492; Why no pursuit, 493; Congrat- 
ulatory letter, 496; Crew neglected, 497 ; "Red tape," 501 ; Mon- 
itor's last trip, 501 ; Goes down in a storm, 503. 



THE END. 



TESTIMONIALS. 



The gentlemen from whom these testhnonials were 
received read various portions of this work, though 
none read all of it. "We submit them to the read- 
ing public: 

The Eev. Dr. Howard, President of Ohio University, says of 
the portion which he read : " So deeply did I become interested 
as I proceeded in reading it, that I forgot myself, and continued 
reading until I finished it. . . . The style is fascinating, the 
Bubject exceedingly interesting, and the manner of treating it in- 
genious." 

Colonel William Spencer, a distinguished lawyer of Somerset, 
Bays : " Character and incident appear to be so happily delineated 
as to give to plain truth and historical event all the fascination 
peculiar to romance. . . . But the best recommendation, 
perhaps, in favor of the work, is the happy influence it must 
necessarily have in inducing American citizens — the young es- 
pecially — to emulate the virtues and shun the vices of distin- 
guished men." 

He further said: "Sir, I know of no work which I would 
rather buy or read with greater zest than your ' Heroes of the 
War for the Union.' " 

John L. Sheridan, a prominent lawyer and a brother of Major- 
General Sheridan, says: "I congratulate you upon having paid 
so handsome a compliment to our gallant soldiers and your own 

genius The beauty, purity, and terseness of the 

style in which your work is written will make it popular, as it 
deserves to be, from the subjects and the manner in which those 
subjects are treated." (511) 



512 TESTIMONIALS. 

The Rev. C. A. Van And a, of Lancaster, Ohio, says, after 
reading one of the chapters: "The style is easy and flowing — • 
the facts numerous, interesting, and well arranged. . . . Such 
a volume would certainly prove entertaining and profitable to 
the people." 

The Eev. C. E. Felton, of Athens, Ohio, says of one of the 
chapters: "I think it not only readable, but fascinating. Of 
those who take it up but few will lay it down until the last 
line is read; and the youthful reader will wish you had written 
more." 

The Hon. Judge Charles C. Hood, an old, worthy, and dis- 
tinguished citizen of Somerset, says : " I have read a portion 
of the proofs of ' The Heroes of the "War for the Union,' etc., 
by the Rev. P. V. Ferree, and regard the work as highly inter- 
esting and as worthy of general patronage. 

The Rev. C. W. Hoyman, pastor of the German Reformed 
Church of Perry County, Ohio, says of the chapter on " Balti- 
more :" " The author — P. V. Ferree — describes in a fresh and 
vigorous style the sad scenes that transpired in the Monumental 
City on the 19th of April, 1861. . . . If we may judge of 
the volume by this essay, of which it is a part, the work can 
not fail to be received with favor and read with profit." 

Tlie author has other testimonials of a similar 
import, received from those who read portions of 
the manuscript, but he deems the foregoing suffi- 
cient to answer the intended object. 



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